Memories of Us
by writrsblk
Summary: Third in the series of my fics Oct/Oct and Little Souvenir. Huddy all the way with their two kids Jessica & Ryan. OC's Ruth, Bill and Cindy are back. I don't want to spoil too much so just read mmmkkkk?
1. Chapter 1

**Well everyone, here we go again ;) This will be the third in a series of Huddy fics I have written. The first of course being "October/October" which was followed by the sequel "Little Souvenir" I suggest for any of you who have not read these two stories to go ahead and do so in order for you to understand this latest story of House and Cuddy I am writing and now….please enjoy…..**

**Memories of Us**

**Chapter 1**

At around 7:30 pm and inside a suburban house nestled on the outskirts of Princeton, Lisa Cuddy stripped out of the red dress she had worn to work earlier that day. Letting the silk fabric slide down over the curves of her body before stepping out of the dress with her black stilettos still adoring her feet.

As she picked up the dress from the floor the sound of the kitchen door being opened and then closed abruptly echoed up the stairs and into the master bedroom, causing her to turn her head in the direction of the doorway.

"Woman! Where are you?" House yelled out a second later as he tossed his keys onto the kitchen table.

"I'm upstairs!" Cuddy yelled back to him with a small laugh as she stood inside the bedroom, clad in a very sexy red lace, demi cup bra with matching red lace thong panties.

From the first floor, a wide grin appeared on House's face as he limped a little quicker towards the stairs. Knowing that after having just dropped off Jessica at Wilson's to spend the night there as well as having dropped Ryan off at Ruth's and Bill's house as they were headed up to the cabin up in the mountains they had purchased a few weeks back, he could spend the night as well …he and wife were finally going to be alone inside their home for the first time in days.

Making his way up the stairs, House felt a rush of arousing thoughts flood his into mind, drowning him with the seductive power they possessed. It had been nearly a week since he had last had sex with his wife,and although some couples who had been married as long as they had been would have considered this normal..... for them it was anything but normal. Regardless of if their now thirteen year old daughter and nine year old son sometimes meant they had to be a little more opportunistic at times when sneaking in at least three nookie sessions a week on average, not counting the weekends of course.

Reaching the open doorway to the bedroom, House looked in at the silhouette of his wife, whose body was turned slightly to the side as she stood in front of the nightstand on his side of the bed, lighting the last of several dark red candles in stained red colored globes she had placed around the room before blowing out the match held between her fingertips out with a breath from her full lips, placing the spent match onto a small glass dish located on top of the nightstand when she was done.

"Hmmm...looks like someone wants Daddy to give her his big, hard cane in the worst way." House muttered in a deep masculine tone, taking a step inside of the room as the smell of the cherry scented candles filled his nose.

His eyes roamed over his wife's amazing body that seemed to have become even more perfect over time. Her curves illuminated with the soft red hue of light being created by candles inside of their bedroom.

Cuddy turned her head in his direction, a sexy smile upon her face. "Are you sure you're going to be up to giving me your big, hard cane considering you just spent the last half hour carting our kids around town?" She asked him with an arched eyebrow as he walked up behind her.

"As sure as you were of getting fucked senseless tonight when you picked out that little number you're wearing from Victoria Secret." House told his wife.

A rush of testosterone was now running through his system as he placed his cane on the side of the bed, moving his hands to her waist as Cuddy let out a soft chuckle.

"You're such a romantic." She whispered sarcastically as he pulled her body closer to him.

"I try." House responded with a smirk, pressing hsi pelivs into her backside and grinding his hips against her just so she would let out that soft little gasp he loved.

She did not disappoint, her lips parting with a the small rush of air escaping them just a he moved his lips to the curve of her neck.

"Excuse me, but aren't you forgetting something?" Cuddy asked him in another whisper as her hand reached up to touch his jaw, gasping once more as one of his hands moved over to cup her left breast as the other one slid down into the front of her panties, his middle finger quickly finding her clit.

"Actually…. I'm pretty sure I've got everything I need right here." House whispered roughly into the side of her neck, now drawing small circles on her clit and smiling with delight at how it made her arch her back into him.

"Y_ou promised_." Cuddy said in firm voice, as she felt the place between her thighs already tingling from his touch, turning around to face her husband with her actions now leaving his skilled hands resting safely on her hips.

House looked down at her in frustration.

"You can't be serious?" He mumbled as his brow furrowed.

"Yes, I can…. and do I really need to remind you of all the things I've done for you inside this bedroom?" She countered, looking up at him with a stubborn expression.

House let out a deep sigh, knowing she would not budge on this subject while also knowing when it came to going above and beyond in terms of _his_ sexual fantasies, his wife did indeed meet his challenges head on and then some. Leaving him gasping for breath on several occasions as she reminded him exactly why she was still the ruling queen of seduction in his heart.

"Fine." He grumbled before turning around and heading towards the closet in their bedroom.

"It's not in there, I already put it in the bathroom for you." Cuddy told him with a devious smile just as he was ready to open the closet door.

House turned around and gave her a glare as he then started off in the opposite direction, headed for the bathroom with his eyes practically popping out of his head when his wife snuck up behind him and smacked his ass.

"Ouch!" House yelped in anger as he turned around to face her.

"Stop being a baby and hurry up. I don't have all day you know." Cuddy told him as an evil little smile appearing on her face.

House leaned closer to her with his blues eyes searing into her cool grey ones."You do realize that little stunt is going to cost you big time?" He told her as his right hand reached down and took a firm hold of her ass.

"Actually….. I was sort of counting on it." Cuddy replied with another smile as she felt a shiver of desire run up her spine.

* * *

Meanwhile across town Ethan Wilson and Jessica House were standing side by side in front of the couch down in the Wilson's newly renovated basement, each of them facing the wide screen TV as they continued to play a game of bowling on the Ninteno Wii.

Later on that night they were planning on going to the nine o'clock showing of a movie named 'Realm' with Ethan's parents. The movie, a first in a series films that would be created over the next four years based off of the popular book series of the same title.

As Ethan took his turn with the white controller in his hand, Jessica glanced over at him, studying his profile as the boy who had been her best friend for as long as she could remember narrowed his pale blue eyes at the television screen.

"What do think about French kissing?" She asked him suddenly as her blue eyes stayed locked onto his face.

Ethan immediately turned to face her. "I don't know. What do you think about it?" He asked with interest, immediately throwing the question back at her and looking down at Jessica as another grow spurt had left him a good three inches taller than her now even though he was a year younger than she was.

"I asked you first." Jessica countered.

"Your turn." Ethan replied.

"Huh?" Jessica asked with a furrowed brow.

"_Your tuuurn." _Ethan stressed, handing her the controller while nodding over to the television set.

"Oh." Jessica said with a slight giggle, taking the controller from him and flipping back some of her long dark hair that cascaded down her back as she turned to face the television.

As she brought her arm back and leaned forward, Ethan found himself unable to take his eyes off of her. Knowing with all of his heart that Jessica House had always been and would forever be the most beautiful girl he had ever met. Finding that for the past three months he could not stop himself from thinking about her more and more with each passing day. Thinking about how her cute little body had begun to develop into an amazing place filled with soft curves he was finding harder and harder to resist. Thinking aobut how good her hair smelled when they would sometimes jokingly hug each other goodbye.. and how he could not keep himself from staring down at her butt when she left.

_Stop! She's your best friend and all you think about anymore is what it would be like to kiss her! REALLY kiss her they way everyone else at school is doing! Well you better wise up and make sure she feels the same way too or you're going to end up screwing things up with your BEST FRIEND! _Ethan's mind yelled at him, with the anger of a twelve year old boy who was helpless against the raging hormones inside of him that seemed hell bent on driving him insane.

"Ethan?" Jessica questioned, as she turned to face him once more.

"Huh?" Ethan answered, startled out of his thoughts of her while a slight blush was now threatening to rise up onto his cheeks.

"Don't '_huh' _me…I just asked you again what you thought about French kissing. Now quit stalling and answer me." Jessica replied as her blue eyes glared up at him.

"Why do you want to know so badly what I think about French kissing?" Ethan challenged, feeling the heart inside his chest start to pick up its pace whenever she looked at him like that as if no one else in the world even existed at the moment.

Jessica drew in her bottom lip, lowering her eyes to the floor for a moment before returning them to his face. "Well…since I'm going to be in eight grade next month when school starts up again and you'll be in seventh, I started thinking about how last year pretty much everyone at our middle school was going steady or at least dating someone.....and.....well that got me thinking. What if you or I get asked out this year by someone we like? Wouldn't you want to make sure you knew how to kiss someone so you didn't look like a total idiot when the big moment came?" She questioned as her mind kept on reminding her how amazing the Ethan looked tonight, dressed in the white graphic t-shirt and faded blue jeans as the long bangs of his dark brown hair were parted off to one side, just above his amazing pale blue eyes.

"What makes you think I _haven't_ already French kissed someone?" Ethan asked in return, trying to play it cool until he was sure that what Jessica was asking of him was indeed what he had been dreaming about for months now.

"You tell me everything remember? So I'm pretty sure if you got to stick your tongue in someone else's mouth I'd know about it." Jessica replied back to him smartly, crossing her arms in front of her with the white game control still held within her grip.

"Ok." Ethan replied, moving his hand through is dark brown hair as he felt a lump rise up in his throat.

"Ok?" Jessica questioned, not realizing their discussion had actually come to end.

"Ok, I'll kiss you." Ethan told in a voice just above a whisper, watching as those perfect teeth of hers bit down on one very tempting and full bottom lip.

* * *

"Nana, do you think we're going to see a lot of animals at the cabin? Like deer and stuff?" Ryan asked his Grandmother, helping her carry some cardboard boxes out into the bed of the red, extended cab pickup truck his Papa had bought just a few weeks ago.

"I'm sure we're going to see lots of animals up at the cabin.…..including deer." Ruth assured her grandson as she placed the box in her hands onto the tailgate of the truck.

"Well, it took a little digging, but I finally found the old fishing rods my Dad left me." Bill announced to his wife and grandson as he walked out from the open doorway of garage and into the driveway of his home, carefully holding four rods in his hand.

"Cool! I can't wait to go fishing with you Papa!" Ryan said with a wiry grin, looking up as his grandfather before turning and placing the box he was carrying on the tailgate as well.

From beside her grandson Ruth placed her arm on Bill's shoulder.

"So do you think you're actually going to_ remember_ how to fish? I mean from what you told me its been at least twenty years since you've even handled a fishing rod." Ruth teased him with a smile upon her face.

"My dear ....there are _some things _in life that a man never forgets how to do." Bill informed his wife with a suggestive tone, along wtih a sinful wink that made her to giggle.

"Are you guys talking about sex stuff?" Ryan asked from below with them a wrinkled nose.

Ruth felt her jaw drop. "What? Where did you even hear the word _sex_?" She questioned in shock to her grandson.

Ryan shook his head and chuckled with amusement at seeing the look on his Grammy's face right now.

"_I am nine years old Nana…" _the boy stressed,"and besides Jessie told me that when Mom and Dad start whispering and smiling at each other it means they're talking about sex and just now you and Papa were smiling at each other the same way my Mom and Dad do just before Dad grabs Mom's butt and she yells at him." The boy informed his grandmother, watching as her chestnut eyes darted over to his Papa.

"Bill?" Ruth whispered, not sure of what exactly to say to the boy at this point.

"It's ok." Bill whispered back to her with a nod before addressing their grandson.

"So Ryan …tell me_ exactly _what you think sex is?" He then questioned in a calm manner to the boy.

A mischievous smile appeared on the Ryan's face…..nearly giving his grandmother a heart attack.

"Well….sex is when grownups like Mom and Dad go into the bedroom and hide under the covers so they can kiss each other and wrestle until one of them gives up." Ryan answered proudly, pretty sure in his nine year old mind that he had this whole sex thing figured out.

Bill chuckled. "Sound about right to me." He agreed while shooting Ruth a sideways glance.

"Thank god." Ruth muttered under her breath while she made a mental note to have a little talk with Jessica about just how much she was informing her little brother about sex and exactly how much_ she_ knew about the subject as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Everyone and thanks for the warm welcome back and great reviews! I really appreciate them ;) Now...who's ready for some Hot Huddy...he he ;)**

**Chapter 2**

"Hurry up!" Cuddy yelled with a giggle towards the closed door of the bathroom, sitting down at the edge of the bed as she waited on her husband.

"Shut up!" House yelled back at her with an irritated tone, pissed at what he had agreed to wear for his wife, a scowl rising up on his face as he quickly opened the bathroom door, entering back into the bedroom.

"Mmmmm….._very sexy_." Cuddy purred, getting up from the bed with a smile on her face while making sure to put an extra sway in her hips as she made her way towards him.

"You're sick. You know that?" House told her with a sour face as his eyes roamed over her body, still covered in the racy red lingerie as she placed a very soft and slender hand onto his bare chest.

"Now now Doctor House, there's no need to be rude…especially considering you're about to get lucky with the Dean of Medicine." Cuddy told him in a smoldering voice as her eyes drank in the sight of her husband, standing before her, dressed in nothing but his white lab with a stethoscope around his neck.

"Not really a valid argument, considering I can pretty much can get lucky with the Dean of Medicine anytime I want." House pointed out to her with a smartass tone as a grimace remained on his face.

"Oh, so then you're saying you don't want to have sex with me?" Cuddy countered with a confident tone, lowering her left hand from his chest and down to the dark patch of coarse hairs just above his cock before her fingers wrapped around his already semi-hard member, caressing it with all the poise and skill of a woman who knew exactly the type of touch that would drive her lover wild.

"I never said…..why in the world do you even like me wearing this so much anyway?" House asked between a sharp breath.

Damn her for being so good with her hand as she planted some soft, tempting kissed upon his neck.

"Because believe it or not Dr. House_….you_ look incredibly handsome in your lab coat…and that, combined with the fact that I'm the _only one _who gets to see you like this is a massive turn on." Cuddy murmured into his warm flesh while adding just the right amount of pressure to her now well timed strokes on his cock,

"I'll have to remember to start wearing this lab coat at home more of often. In fact…. I think I may even start wearing this lab coat everywhere we go from now on. Including those stupid teacher conferences you're constantly dragging me along to." House commented down to her in a gruff voice, still holding onto his smartass remarks as Cuddy looked up at him, arching an eyebrow.

She then gave him that soft laugh of hers that told him she wasn't buying any of the bullshit he was trying to sell her before abrubtly stopping the motion of her hand and kneeling before him.

"Just shut up and enjoy this." She said in a throaty voice.

As Cuddy looked up at him once more, House knew his wife now had him _exactly_ where she wanted him. Her cool grey eyes, shimmering like dark granite under a pale moon. Her full red lips being licked by her tongue and made to shine as well as before she parted them and took the head of his cock into her warm mouth.

He let out a deep groan, his hands finding their way into the dark hair, gently pulling it away from her face.

Cuddy moved her head forward, taking more of him, before she stared the well honed back and forth motion of her mouth.

House gasped, raising his eyes to the ceiling as he fought off the tremendous urge to release right then and there inside of her mouth after a week abstinence, looking down at her and finding those amazing grey eyes looking up at him as she kept up her pace, the image pf what she was doing both erotic and sensual, the pull of desire from deep within his groin almost unbearable now.

Cuddy moaned softly as she tightened her grip on his narrow hips, leaning forward and taking ever inch of him into her mouth. She then stopped the bobbing of her head while sweeping her tongue against the base of his cock, her fingertips now piercing his skin.

"Fuck." House cried out as he trembled with ecstasy, his eyes stayed locked on hers as she looked up at him and his hands gripped tighter onto her dark hair.

A tidal wave of testosterone was now flooding every part of his body as Cuddy moaned deeply once more from the back of her throat, sending a shock wave through him before she slowly pulled away from him, leaving only the tip of his cock inside her mouth now.

House didn't give her a second chance to take him back into her mouth again. The need to please her before burying himself deep inside of her taking as his hands reached down and helped lift her onto her feet again, his mouth crashing onto hers as their bodies connected.

Cuddy let out a shuddered breath when their lips had parted, her hands tearing the lab House was wearing off of his body with force, her teeth nipping at his bottom lip as her fingernails scratched the skin on his back.

She never imagined it could still be this hot and volatile between them….especially after thirteen years of marriage and the both of them now over fifty, but damn if the man before her didn't make her feel like she was twenty again. Wild and free and with nothing more on her mind than to be taken by him in any wicked way he imaged.

With a turn of his index finger, House unhooked her bra from the back, sliding it down past her arms before she lifted them and he tossed the garment aside. He then hungrily moved his hot mouth to one of her nipples, his tongue teasing the erect nub as he cupped her breasts possessively, grinding his hips into hers as the fingers of her left hand weaved into the short hairs on the back of his head.

When the stethoscope got in his way, House tugged it free from his neck and tossed it onto the floor where it made a soft thud, hearing a soft giggle escape Cuddy's lips and making sure to silence it quickly as his mouth latched onto the fullness of her breast once more, sucking and teasing that nipple until he knew it would leave her wet and aching for him.

_"Mmmmm …..House…"_ Cuddy gasped, using his last name to add more heat to their fire. Her heart was now racing out of control, the space between her thighs slick and throbbing for him as he moved his lips slowly up to her neck, lifting his head and spoke to her.

"Get on the bed." House commanded as he squeezed her ass and his blue eyes seared into hers.

Cuddy paused for a moment to capture the look upon his face in her memory, kissing him deeply before turning towards the bed.

As soon as she laid down upon the mattress, House flipped her over onto her stomach, shoving a pillow beneath her hips as she gasped in surprise.

It had all happened so quickly, the tremor of him taking control of her so fierce that Cuddy now found herself panting with excitement.

"Don't you dare move that pretty little ass of yours one inch…understand?" House ordered down to her in a low tone as the weight of him kneeling behind her on the bed caused the mattress to shift.

Cuddy nodded in understanding, biting down on her bottom lip and parting those same lips a second later as she felt his hands gently caressing her hips from behind before he tucked his long fingers inside the lace thong she was wearing, pulling it slowly down past her thighs and legs….of course leaving her heels on as he had every intent of fucking her with those sexy black shoes on.

The mattress shifted again and Cuddy gasped in anticipation as House gently spread her thighs further apart as she remained kneeling in front of him before his lips began to kiss the small of her back as his hands cupped and squeezed her ass.

"You have no idea…how amazing you look right now." House told her in a rugged lust filled voice, looking down at her dark curls spilling over her back as her ass was tilted up towards the ceiling.

Unable to resist any longer, his fingers gently began tracing the outer lips of her entrance, instantly being coated in her sweet glistening sex, his cock twitching with the knowledge that even after all of these years he could still get her into such a state of pure desire and longing for him.

Cuddy trembled, breathing hard as House ran his middle finger over her clit, drawing small circles on it before pulling it away.

She hummed with an ache as the master of foreplay smiled behind her before gripping her hips and pulled her lower half up a bit as he his head bowed to meet her pelvis.

Without delay her stared lapping up the warm sweetness of her arousal, a low, deep sound between growl and moan escaped inside of his chest as his hands gripped harder onto her hips.

"_Oh god…" _Cuddy whispered out in a voice that trembled, her hands clutching wildly onto the sheets beneath her as House flicked the tip of his tongue against her clit before plunging that same amazing tongue deep enough inside of her from behind to cause her back to arch.

She moaned out in ecstasy, a sweat forming on her brow as he began licking and sucking over every sensitive part of her now, seemingly unable to get enough of the taste of her, causing her to whimper and let out soft moans as the white hot electrical currents of pleasure felt between her thighs road over inch of her body.

"Oh god…..oh Greg…" Cuddy gasped with an ache, rolling her hips into his face and being rewarded by his tongue pumping in and out of her drenched pussy repeatidly as he groaned with appreciation into the most private part of her, making her cry out as she now struggled to breath in the room soaked with her desire.

Just when she was sure she couldn't take anymore House removed his tongue and eased a finger inside of her, curling it forward and guiding it in and out of her slowly before a second finger joined in, both of them now scissoring and flexing as Cuddy hips bucked and she moaned out in complete ecstasy.

"Oh god…..fuck me now!" Cuddy commanded with urgency, reaching blindly behind her and touching his shoulder as her chin pressed into the mattress and her hips continued to buck.

House gave her one last stroke with his fingers before he kissed his way up her spine.

"Are you sure you want me to fuck you Lisa?" He teased with a low growl, giving that gorgeous ass of hers a smack and smiling at the moan that escaped her lips.

"Yes…" Cuddy uttered breathlessly, looked back at him and turning her head slightly as he leaned down to capture her lips in a long drawn out kiss before he broke free and positioned himself behind her.

House paused for a moment, running his hands down her rib cage before he took hold of his cock and placed the tip of it inside of her.

Turned on beyond belief by now, Cuddy titled her hips and pushed back on him, allowing ever inch of him to slip completely inside of her.

House took in a harsh breath, gripping onto her hips as his heart began to beat faster inside of his chest, pumping into her deep and hard a second later and watching as Cuddy propped herself up on all fours, arching her back at an even greater angle as she turned her head and looked back at him.

"Harder." She cried out as her voice trembled and her body felt the earth shattering passion of the man buried deep inside of her.

House pulled her against him forcefully, the sound of their skin smacking against each other only causing the heat between them to rise.

"Right there! Oh god right there!" Cuddy moaned as she started to roll her hips back into him with just as much force as he was using on her, easily keeping up with his well timed strokes.

"Fuck….Lisa…just like!" House cried out in a hoarse voice before shuddering with release just as her inner walls clamped down on him.

A moan of strung out words soaked with the power of her orgasm escaped Cuddy's lips, their hips now jerking against each other as they were pulled over the cliff and into the crashing tide of their orgasms.

House leaned forward onto Cuddy's back, gasping for air as his hand started to caress the same spot on her ass he had smacked earlier before he pulled his cock out from inside of her and rolled onto the mattress.

Taking in another deep breath, Cuddy collapsed onto her side.....feeling the smile tug at the corners of her mouth as House pulled her closer to him so her head could rest on his shoulder.

"I forgot how much I missed you crying out like a banshee since the kids aren't around to hear you." House said to her with smirk while staring up a the ceiling as he tried to slow the rapid beating of his heart.

"Well you weren't exactly the silent type yourself mister." Cuddy reminded him with a laugh as her hand caressed the coarse patch of hair on his chest.

"Wanna get a shower together then go out to dinner?" Housed asked her as his hand caressed her hip, kissing the crown of her head while taking in the scent of her shampoo.

"Wow, so I'm actually going to dinner out of this deal too even though I already put out?" Cuddy asked with a sinful smile while resting her chin onto his chest.

"Well …since you've made this one spanktastic evening so far….I figured I could make an exception." House told her as a sly smile moved across his face.

* * *

"Wait." Jessica said just as Ethan leaned down to kiss her.

"For what?" Ethan questioned with an annoyed tone.

"It has to be perfect." Jessica replied, fishing a small tube of lip gloss out of the front pocket of her jeans before applying some of the gloss to her lips.

"Oh, please…" Ethan mumbled, beginning to loose his nerve as he watched Jessica smacking her lips together.

"Shut up." Jessica scolded, placing the tube of lip gloss back inside the front pocket of her jeans.

"Ok, now place your hands on my hips." She instructed.

Ethan rolled his eyes, but did as he was told.

Jessica then placed her hands onto his shoulders, feeling the sudden flutter of butterflies inside of her stomach as her mouth went dry.

"Now what?" Ethan challenged, seeing the doubt written all over her pretty little face and taking the opportunity to try and get the upper hand.

"Now…." Jessica started to say, before taking in a deep breath.

"Now this…." She whispered up to him, standing on her tiptoes so that their lips would connect.

At first the feeling was rather familiar as during their years growing up together they had kissed just like this before, mostly out of curiosity with closed mouths and a friendship that came with the ease of the summer wind on the type of day you wish would last for ever…but then….it changed…and familiar was left by the waste side as Ethan pulled her closer to him, gently pushing the tip of his tongue into her mouth.

_No….it wasn't supposed to happen like this. SHE was supposed to make the first move. She was supposed to be in control._

With the rush of each passing second Jessica suddenly found her head spinning as Ethan tentatively moved even more of his tongue into her mouth until she found herself kissing him back as her arms wrapped even tighter around his neck.

It was all so incredibly AMAZING....finding herself feeling so alive right now as her eyes remained closed with her heart pumping fast and hard inside of her chest... and Ethan was holding onto her _so tight… _almost as if he was afraid she might disappear in front of him....just wanting to hold onto her.......just wanting.....

And then suddenly Ethan broke away from her, taking a few staggered steps away from her with a look on his face as if he had just seen a ghost.

"I……you …..you want something to drink?" He asked her abruptly as if the kiss between them had not even occurred.

"Ummm ….yeah, I guess so." Jessica answered with shock, wondering what in the hell just happened as she watched Ethan turn and run up the stairs leading to the first floor before she could even get another word out of her mouth.

_Shit! Shit! Shit!, _Ethan cursed inside of his head, trying to slow his breath as well as stave off the erection currently growing inside of his pants as the taste of Jessica's cherry flavored gloss moved over his tongue.

"Ethan!" Cindy called out to her son as she made her way from the living room and into the kitchen.

"Oh god Mom... _not now_!" Ethan whispered in agony to himself while pleading for his penis to obey him for once as the sound of his Mom's footsteps on the ceramic tile of their kitchen drew closer to him.

"Yeah Mom." Ethan answered as casually thankfully saved by the image that had popped into his head of his male science teacher, dressed in a red thong which had caused his erection to go limp in an instant.

Suddenly coming face to face with her son as he turned the corner into the kitchen, Cindy placed her hand upon his shoulder.

"Ethan, you scared me half to death! I thought you were still downstairs with Jessica." She told him with a surprised expression.

"I was just coming upstairs to get us something to drink." Ethan explained as his mind was now replaying the kiss he had just experienced with Jessica down in the basement.

"Listen, why don't the two of you come upstairs for a little bit before the movie starts to see if you can help your Dad out with the new I-pod I got for him yesterday…..because right now he's completely clueless." Cindy said to her son with a smile.

"I heard Cindy, and for your information _I am not clueless. _Wait .. now what the hell does that mean?" Wilson yelled out from the computer room down the hall as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the small screen before him.

"See?" Cindy whispered to her son with a slight chuckle.

"Ok Mom, I'll go and get Jess and we'll be right up." Ethan agreed with an easy smile before heading back downstairs.

Watching him go, Cindy shook her head.

"Oh Ethan…I hope you know what you're doing considering House is going to make your life a living hell when he finds out you were kissing _his _daughter down in our basement." Cindy whispered to herself as the image of her son standing before her with the shimmering remnants of Jessica's lip gloss smudged over his mouth played on inside of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The moon was fat and amazingly bright as it hung proudly in the night sky above the red Ford pickup truck making its way up a tall and ancient mountain where trees had stood silently for hundreds of years, witnessing the never ending changing seasons before them.

"Ryan's still asleep." Ruth whispered over to Bill with a smile on her face after looking back in the extended cab at her grandson whose head was slouched to one side as he's chest rose and fell with each breath.

Bill let out a soft laugh, "I think Ryan was so excited about coming up here he actually wore himself out." He commented with a small smile of his own as his eyes continued to look out into the endless forest that surrounded them on both sides of the dirt road they were now traveling on.

"I really hope Ryan and Jessica have as much fun up at the cabin as I think they will. I can remember going up to my Uncle's cabin in the summer when I was a little girl and I how much loved it up there." Ruth said as her mind carried to the memories of her past.

"Don't worry honey, the kids are going to love being up at the cabin just as much as we will." Bill replied softly while glancing back at his sleeping grandson through the rear-view mirror and thinking about all the great memories his family was going to be sharing inside the cozy log cabin tucked in the middle of nowhere.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Ethan whispered over to Jessica as the stood side by side in front of the concession stand inside the movie theater while his parents waited for them a few feet away by the doors that lead into the Cinema 11 where 'Realm' would be playing.

She had been giving him the silent treatment ever since their kiss down in the basement….or more precisely, ever since he had ran away from her like she had the plague.

Jessica darted her brilliant blue eyes over at him.

"I don't understand why you have to be such a jerk at times." She muttered with her arms crossed in front of her, taking a step forward as the person in line in front of them did the same.

"I wasn't being a jerk." Ethan whispered with a hint of hurt to his tone.

"Oh really?" Jessica questioned, turning to face him directly, "Then why did you run away like I gave you an STD or something after we just got done kissing down in your basement!" She hissed with the temper of her Father now in full view.

Ethan couldn't help but laugh at that moment because the fact of the matter was Jessica House looked so darn cute when she was mad.

"Just calm down drama queen." He said to her with a dimple filled grin.

"Call me a drama queen again and you're going to get a knee in the balls." Jessica warned him with and arched eyebrow.

"Ok, fine. Truce?" Ethan offered, placing his hands out before him.

Jessica gave him a sideways glance. "Fine." She muttered before turning and taking another step forward, following the line of people in front of her once more.

"So was it really that bad?" She asked in a whisper so soft Ethan barely heard her.

"Bad? Are you kidding? It was _amazing_." Ethan replied in a whisper just as soft, causing Jessica to spin around on her heels to face him once more.

"Then why did you run out on me like that?" She challenged, looking up at him with confusion.

"Can I help you?" The man behind the counter interrupted before Ethan could answer.

"Um yeah…two medium popcorn's and two large Cokes." Ethan replied as he reached inside the front pocket for of his jeans for some money.

"You know its cheaper if you just get the jumbo bucket." The movie employee informed him.

"Actually I don't want any popcorn, and I'll pay for my soda myself." Jessica responded sharply as she narrowed her eyes at Ethan briefly before turning her attention back on the man behind the counter.

"_A jumbo popcorn and two large Cokes." _Ethan stressed from beside her, not backing down an inch as he reached around her and slapped his money down onto the counter.

Wanting nothing more than to keep the line moving the guy behind the counter took the boy's money as the employee beside him poured their drinks from the fountain before scooping some popcorn into a jumbo sized bucket.

"I told you I didn't want any-" Jessica started to say in an irritated tone as Ethan was given his change.

"You're welcome." Ethan responded to her coolly, handing her one of the Cokes as they walked towards his parents.

"You still didn't answer my question." Jessica reminded him.

Ethan turned to face her, stopping their progress.

"I don't want to ruin what we have…ok?" He told her, deciding that telling her a half truth about his fears was far better than admitting the second half… which was of course the huge boner that had sprung up inside of his pants when they had kissed.

Jessica stared up at him for a moment, studying his face intently, "Ok, so we'll make sure we don't ruin what we already have by talking things out instead of running away. Deal?" She offered with a small smirk.

Ethan took a step closer to her. "Quit trying to get me to kiss you again….especially with my parents only a few feet away from us pervert," he teased with a grin to her as he watched Jessica wrinkle her nose up at him.

* * *

"See I told you." Cindy whispered over to Wilson as the two of them watched Jessica and Ethan who were talking and smiling at each other a few feet away from them inside the crowded theater.

Wilson ran his hand through his hair with a worried expression on his face. "Are you sure the two of them were _just kissing_ down in the basement and nothing else?" He questioned to his wife.

"Why? Do you think they were doing more than that?" Cindy asked him, now just as worried at he was.

"I don't know, but tomorrow after House comes to pick up Jessica I'm going to have a talk with our son." Wilson replied, watching the way Ethan brushed his arm against Jessica's as the two kids started walking towards them again.

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this again." Cuddy said with a soft laugh as the two glasses of wine she had consumed during a late night dinner with her husband earlier had left her with a comfortable warm feeling and an easy smile upon her lips.

"From what I remember…. it didn't take much coaxing to get you to strip out of your clothes and go skinny dipping with me inside our pool." House reminded her, reaching under the water and lifting her toned legs up so that she could wrap them around his waist.

"You just want to take advantage of me again." Cuddy informed him with another dazzling smile, wrapping her arms around his neck as their foreheads connected and her ankles locked behind his back.

"Yeah right! You're the one whose ready for a ride on the stallion again… and when I say stallion, I mean penis…in case you've forgotten in your inebriated state." House informed her as his hands slid down to her ass , cupping it firmly.

Cuddy let out a hearty laugh that was as full bodied as the wine she had drank earlier, throwing her head back as her shoulders shook.

"Yes! Take me now Gregory…please let me ride that big Stallion of yours!" She cried out, her words laced with mock passion of someone getting their rocks off.

"Shhh…you'll wake the neighbor's sex fiend!" House scolded with a laugh and a smile upon his face, deciding the rest of their night together was going to be very interesting indeed to say the very least.

* * *

"Whoah!" Ryan exclaimed with wide eyes as he climbed out of the back of the extended cab Ford pickup truck, looking over at the two story log cabin in clearing before him.

The cabin was surrounded by a deep forest which was illuminated by the bright moon on the clear summer night. The tall pine trees lining the entrance into the forest, reminding him of a the kinf of wooden gate which would be the first step into a deep and mysterious place where things may not be at all what they seem. His young mind pulling memories from one of his favorite childhood books 'Where the Wild Things Are' as the blinking light of fireflies seen in the distance through the tall grass of a meadow in front of the cabin seemed to hold a magical quality to them, whispering to him of all the wonderful things that could be found just a few hundred yards away from the sturdy log cabin tucked near the top of a mountain.

"Ready to go inside?" Ruth asked her grandson with a smile as he jumped down from inside of the truck with a huge, sleepy smile on his face.

"Nana can we stay up for awhile and sit on the front porch?" Ryan asked with an excited grin while zipping up his hooded sweatshirt as the cool mountain air made its presence know to him.

"I don't see why not," Ruth agreed, pulling the keys to the cabin out from the pocket of light jacket she was wearing just as Bill made his way over to their side of the vehicle.

The porch Ryan was talking about was actually a large covered deck that extended out in front of the cabin, giving a breathtaking view of not only the forest, but also a very sizeable pond located just below a small hill where the water was currently shimmering under the moonlight.

"Ryan, look over to your left, just beyond that big oak tree." Bill whispered down to his grandson a moment later while pointing to the spot with his index finger.

Following his grandfather's finger, Ryan narrowed his eyes and gasped as a pair of glowing eyes, looked back in their direction.

"What is that Papa?" Ryan asked with a stunned whispered.

"Well, from what I can make out of it..... I think it could be either a raccoon of a little fox heading over to the pond for his supper. Stay very still and I'll get the flashlight out of the truck to make sure." Bill whispered down to the boy, giving Ruth a small wink as she placed her hands on Ryan's shoulder.

Within a few seconds Bill was back, having successfully retrieved the flashlight from the glove box without any sudden movements.

"Are you ready to see or our little guest is?" Bill then whispered down to his grandson.

"Yeah." Ryan whispered back to him as his eyes stayed fixed on the small outline of the creature that was about 20 or so feet from them as it cautiously made its was towards the pond, moving between the blades of tall grass.

Shining the flashlight on the animal, Bill heard his grandson let out a sharp gasp of surprise.

"It's a fox Papa!" The boy said with delight as the small red tailed fox looked back at them with its eyes reflecting off of the beam of the flashlight.

"It sure is." Bill said with a small smile, watching as the little fox then darted out of sight and into a thick patch of blackberry bushes.

"That was such a cute little fox." Ruth said with a soft laugh as the three of them started heading towards the steps on the deck that would lead them to the front door of the cabin.

"Do you think we'll see more animals tonight Papa?" Ryan asked his grandfather, looking back into the meadow where they had spotted the fox as Ruth turned the key inside of the lock and opened up the cabin door.

"There's a very good chance we could." Bill told his grandson as he placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"You know Ryan, since it's a little cool up here tonight, how about if I make us all some hot chocolate to drink while we're sitting out on the deck?" Ruth offered to her grandson as they stepped inside the cabin.

"You're the best Nana." Ryan told his grandmother with a crooked grin on his face.

"Your Nana really is the best," Bill agreed with a smile directed towards his wife as he moved his arm around her waist.

* * *

"I could stay like this forever." Cuddy whispered over to her husband as they lay side by side on the double chaise lounge tucked in the corner of their patio, a few feet away from the pool.

They had just made love again, this time underneath the stars as the warm summer night's breeze had dried the water from their bodies, their rhythm, deliciously slow this time with her heart pounding fast and hard, still finding herself unable to quench her desire for him even though they had been married for years now.

"You know, I've been thinking we should just join a nudist colony. It would make things a lot simpler and I could get laid even more than I do now." House rationalized from beside her with a smirk as he stared up at the stars in the night sky while his hand caressed the small of her back.

His words caused Cuddy to let out a soft laugh as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "Do you think Ryan is doing ok up at the cabin?" She questioned to him while the crickets out on the lawn continued to serenade them.

"I think our son is probably having the time of his life up at that cabin and will probably be gloating to his sister tomorrow once we get up there about how Nana and Papa let him stay up late even though _he's_ only nine and _she's _thirteen." House remarked knowingly as Cuddy reached across the span of his chest for her cell phone laying beside them on the chaise.

After checking the time on the phone display she rested on her side once more.

"Speaking of Jess, the movie should be over by now. Do want to give her a call to see how she's doing?" Cuddy asked, propping herself up on her elbow.

House's eyes immediately zoned on Cuddy's breasts.

"Give me a second." He muttered as he leaned towards her, wrapping an arm around her wasit as he kissed each breast tenderly.

"I don't know what you're doing to keep these things looking so damn good, but whatever you're doing…don't stop." House muttered, looking up at her with a boyish grin.

Cuddy shook her head, laughing softly again.

"Did you ever really conquer puberty?" She questioned to him with a smirk.

"Depends on what you mean by conquering. I don't masturbate as much as I did when I was thirteen, but then again since you're more than wiling to jump on my magic stick every chance you get ….I really don't need to." House countered with an evil grin.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I'm calling Jess." She informed him, hitting the speed dial number to Jessica's cell phone......but just as the phone began to ring on the other side of the line, House snatched the phone out of his wife's hand, sticking out his tongue at her as he pulled her down next to him again.

"Hi Mom." Jessica answered as she sat at the kitchen table with Ethan and his parents.

"Sorry it's not your Mom, its your no good Dad......wanna hang up now?" House questioned on the other end of the line as Cuddy rolled her eyes and looked up at the stars above them.

"I would, but you'd just end up calling me back anyway." Jessica replied back without missing a beat as she leaned back in the chair, looking over at Ethan who was now talking to his own Father and as well as his Mother as they continued to discuss the movie they had seen tonight.

"So how was the movie? Did Emily finally kiss that loser Dillon?" House asked, making sure when it came to both of his kids to take an interest in whatever interested them.

"Dad, that part does come until the next movie." Jessica informed him, shaking her head as she let out a soft laugh that mirrored the tone of her mother's voice to a tee.

"So….. _did you_ kiss anyone tonight?" House asked next with grin as he teased her.

"Stop being stupid and let me talk to Mom." Jessica replied a little too quickly, feeling a slight blush rising up on her cheeks…..thankfully that Ethan, along with his Mom and Dad were all too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice her embarrassment, while on the other end of the line, House narrowed his eyes at the bright moon above him.

"Hold on a second and I'll put your Mom on." House said with his tone changing just enough that Cuddy had noticed it, turning on her side once more so she could look over at him.

"Ok ..I love you Dad." Jessica responded.

"I love you too…here's your Mom." House said, handing over the phone to his wife.

For the next few minutes Cuddy talked to Jessica about the movie she had gone to see as well as reminding her daughter she needed to be ready to leave Wilson's and Cindy's place by eight am tomorrow so they could head up to the cabin in the morning.

"Mom, don't forget that blue bag in my room that has all my stuff in it." Jessica said, finding herself staring over at Ethan as he let out a laugh at something his Dad had said to him, thinking at that moment how much she loved the way his dimples would deepen whenever he smiled like that.

"I won't and don't stay up too late ok?" Cuddy replied before telling Jessica she loved her, hearing those words spoken to her in return back by her daughter before she hung up the phone.

"So what's wrong?" Cuddy asked her husband, looking over at his face as the worry lines in his forehead were illuminated by the moonlight.

"I pretty sure Jessica kissed Ethan tonight." House answered with a tone of disappointment in his voice.


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again guys thanks for the GREAT REVIEWS and here comes the next chapter!**

**Chapter 4**

The next morning, at around 8am House and Cuddy had arrived at Wilson's place to pick up Jessica before heading up to the cabin in the mountains where Ruth, Bill and Ryan where waiting for them.

"Text me once you guys leave." Jessica whispered to Ethan while standing inside the living room of his home as their parents stood inside the kitchen, still visible to them thanks to the open floor plan of the house as soon he would be leaving Princeton as well and heading to the Jersey shore for the rest of the weekend to visit his own set of Grandparents on his Dad's side.

"You know I will." Ethan assured her, finding in this new morning, an amazing feeling in the pit of his stomach every time Jessica looked up at him with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers. Hoping in his heart she felt the same way too while wishing he could at least kiss her one more time before they parted and went their separate ways.

Jessica studied Ethan's face as he spoke to her. Watching the way his lips moved as he smiled and took hold of her hand, out of sight of their parents in the kitchen of course as her back was turned towards them.

A spark of excitement shot off inside of her like a rocket from the contact he had made with her.

She never really thought it could be this way between them, knowing him as long as she did….and yet, standing here now with him now, Jessica knew, even at the tender age of thirteen that she loved Ethan James Wilson with all of her heart.

"So where's my goodbye kiss?" Ethan whispered to her suddenly with a sly grin, breaking her mind free of the thoughts currently running through it.

"Yeah right. The last thing I need is my Dad killing my boyfriend before I even get to write his name in my notebooks this year at school." Jessica replied back to him with a small smirk as her eyes traced the curve of his perfect jaw.

"Wait….. who said I was your boyfriend? I only wanted another kiss from you so I could brag to guys in my grade about getting lucky with an older woman once school starts up again." Ethan teased back to her just before the smile on his face suddenly faded as he made eye contact with House who was staring intently at him from inside the kitchen.

"So yeah ..have fun being mean to your little brother up at the cabin." Ethan then said in a normal tone while slowly letting go of Jessica's hand even though there was no way her Fathercould have seen him holding it.

Looking up into his eyes, Jesssica knew _exactly _the type of game they were playing now for the benefit of her Father after she had watched Ethan's eyes lower to hers from where hey had been looking out into the kitchen.

"I will ...and by the way try not to drown while you're at the shore." Jessica replied back to him smartly, giving Ethan a playful punch on the shoulder.

_Yep, they were friends and nothing more…at least not until she decided exactly how to break the news to her Dad that his worst fear in regards to her and Ethan had actually come true. _

Thinking about it now however, Jessica could not help but smile, biting down on her bottom lip as she noticed the way the pale blue polo shirt Ethan was wearing today fit so well on his tall, lean frame, stretching across his shoulders that seemed to have gotten broader overnight.

"Stop looking at me like that way or I really am going to end up being your dead boyfriend." Ethan warned to her in a hushed voice as House made his way to the open archway of the kitchen, starting to walk over to them both.

"Alright Chatty Kathy, time to get this show on the road." House muttered from behind them, followed into the room by Cuddy as well as Wilson and Cindy.

"Who's Chatty Kathy?" Ethan asked with confusion as Jessica turned around to face her Father.

"It's your Dad's pet name for your Mom when they're in the sack getting it on and he wants her to shut the hell up." House informed the boy with a dry tone as he his eyes stayed locked on Wilson's spawn.

"Greg!" Cuddy practically shouted as she stood behind him, with Cindy on one side of her and Wilson on the other.

"Relax Control Freak Barbie." House commented over his shoulder to his wife while keeping his eyes locked on Ethan, studying every inch of the young kid's face....including those damn dimples of his that apparently his daughter found _so irresistible_.

Cuddy glared at House after hearing his response to her, "Keep it up, and Smartass Doctor Ken is going to end up matching the real Ken when it comes to the missing genital department." She warned him while placing a hand on her hip.

Jessica rolled her eyes and let out a disgusted sigh.

"Would you two please stop? I really could have lived the rest of my without anymore information about Dad's genitals." She complained to both of her parents as Ethan, along with_ his_ parents started to laugh at the arguing couple was putting on one hell of show in front of them, much to their daughter's dismay.

* * *

Sitting inside a small fishing boat resting on top of the shimmering water of the pond just down the hill from his parents cabin, Ryan placed his hand over his forehead like a visor, peering out into the morning sky rimmed with pink clouds.

"Papa! What in the world is that?" The boy whispered a second later, pointing off to his right as a large bird that reminded him very much of pterodactyl swooped down towards the pond.

Following his grandson's gaze, Bill studied the rather large creature with a small smile upon his face a the majestic bird made it's landing a few yards away from them before walking on its long, stick like legs towards a small patch of cattails.

"That's my dear boy, is a crane." He answered, turning to look at his grandson.

"I think that's the coolest bird I've ever seen! But I was worried for minute that thing was going to fly over our boat and crap all over us! Can you imagine how big that bird's crap would be Papa?" Ryan asked his grandfather with a scrunched up face and an amused smirk.

Bill chuckled loudly, his deep voice echoing across the small valley where they were nestled inside of.

"_Shhhhhh! Papa you'll scare the fish." _Ryan whispered while clutching his fishing pole with both of his hands.

Again Bill chuckled, however this time being careful to keep the sound of his voice down to just above a whisper.

"Well Ryan if you'd stop being so funny maybe I could keep from laughing and scaring all the fish away." He informed the boy.

"You really think I'm funny Papa?" Ryan asked, with his grey eyes now squinting both from the rising sun above them as well as from his own curiosity.

Bill nodded. "Yep, in fact I think you may be one of the funniest people I know." He assured the boy watching as a the huge smile moved across his grandson's face.

"Thanks Pa-"

"Holy crap! Somethings biting my line!" Ryan yelled, standing up in the boat suddenly as he felt a strong tug from his fishing rod that had set his heart racing.

"Easy there Ryan, I don't want you falling into the water along with the fish you're trying to catch." Bill said with a gentle voice, guiding the boy back onto his seat inside the boat as he turned just in time to see a rather large bass come splashing up from the surface of the water before the it dove back underneath into the pond.

"Holy smokes! Papa, did you see that fish?" Ryan yelped with both of his hands now holding onto the fishing rod for dear life.

"Looks like you've got quite a whopper on there and if I have anything to say about it you're going to be giving your Nana a heart attack when we bring that big fellow back with us." Bill told the boy with a broad smile as he reached for Ryan, guiding him carefully into a standing position in front of him before placing his hands on top of Ryan's wrists.

"Ok Ryan, now you need to start reeling in that line slowly so we can see just how much this big fella wants to fight you." Bill instructed to his grandson as he placed the boy's hands into the correct positions on both the reel and the pole.

"Ok." Ryan whispered back to him, feeling his heart pounding inside of his chest as he started to reel in some of the line, being met with a strong tug from the mighty fish underneath the water when he did so.

"There you go. Keep reeling in the line until I tell you to stop." Bill told his grandson as he placed one of arms around the boy's waist.

Ryan nodded, his eyes set on the water as the fish became airborne again before splashing back into the water.

"Ok now pull up on that rod and start reeling in that line as fast as you can! Show that bugger he picked the wrong fisherman to mess with today!" Bill exclaimed as he cheered his grandson on.

"You're dead meat fish!" Ryan yelled with triumphant, reeling in some more of the line and watching as the fish was drawn closer to the boat.

"You tell em Ryan." Bill replied with a another soft laugh as his heart swelled with pride over his amazing grandson who was just about to land his first fish.

* * *

"You're gonna get carpal tunnel by the time you're sixteen if you keep texting like that every ten seconds." House commented dryly back to his daughter as his blue eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.

"Relax Dad, me and my fingers will be fine." Jessica replied back to him just a dryly as a new text upon her cell phone drew her eyes back to the small display screen once more with the message upon it causing a small smile creep up onto the corners of her mouth

**_When do I get my 2__nd__ kiss from u? Inquiring minds want to know! ;)_**

Studying the look on his daughter's face in the rearview mirror, House felt a sharp slap on the side of his arm that came from the direction of his wife.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?" He grumbled as his eyes darted over towards Cuddy.

"I asked you two times where you wanted to stop for breakfast!" Cuddy commented back to him with a fire in her eyes as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Teaching our daughter that being physically abusive to your husband is perfectly acceptable behavior has to rank at the top of the list for Bad Parenting 101. I hope you're proud of yourself. And....for your information, there's a diner about a mile up the road where we can stop and get breakfast." House replied back to his wife as he glanced in the rearview mirror again at Jessica who remained grinning from ear to ear as she typed on the tiny keyboard of her cell phone.

**"U sound desperate. Please do not turn in2 some creeper stalker ok?"** Jessica typed back to Ethan as her parents continued to argue in front of her.

Sitting in the back of his paretns car, Ethan to let out a soft laugh.

**"2 bad we couldn't ditch my parents for awhile at the movies last night so we could play tonsil hockey some more :P *dirty wink***

Reading Ethan's message Jessica let out a loud laugh, leaning back into the leather seat of the SUV as she shook her head and smiled.

"_I thought_ that cell phone of hers was _supposed _to be for emergencies or in case she needed a ride for school or swimming lessons." House grumbled over to his wife with a disapproving look upon his face before he the turned the SVU onto the shoulder of the road, heading towards the diner he had spoken about earlier.

Cuddy studied her husband's face for a moment.

This weekend was supposed to be relaxing for all of them. A little getaway up at her Mom's and Bill's newly acquired cabin that should be filled with great memories, but she knew until her husband received his answer on whether or not Jessica and Ethan had actually crossed over the road from their friendship and onto the path he dreaded the most, the vein now pulsing on the side of his temple as well as his clenched jaw would remain nagging him for an explanation, even if he wasn't sure he was prepared for the answer he may get from his _little girl_.

"Jessica ….you've been on your cell phone long enough. Besides the closer we get to the cabin you're probably going to end up losing reception anyway so go ahead and turn it off." Cuddy instructed from the front seat while moving her hand over to her husband thigh and giving it a soft squeeze.

"But Mom, if I'm going to lose reception soon anyway, can't I just text for a few more minutes?" Jessica pushed with her brow furrowing.

"You heard your Mom, now either get off the phone or I toss it out the window right now _before_ I run over the damn thing." House told his daughter in a voice that warned her not to push her luck.

With a huff Jessica glared back at her Father.

"Fine I'll turn it off. Just give me a second to say goodbye to Ethan...and by the way…..how come the two of you have no problem ganging up on me but Ryan can get away with murder and you don't even bat and eye?" She argued back to him in the true nature of both of her parents.

House met her glare head on and with the expression of an Alpha male now sizing up one of his pups.

'Once Ryan figures out that girls no longer have Cooties and that his penis isn't just something to pee out of, things will even out just fine between the two of you." He assured his daughter while pulling into the parking lot of the diner.

Cuddy's jaw dropped at hearing her husband's remark, "Do you think you could have been more tactful when speaking about our son? Especially considering the age of both him and our daughter?" She questioned to him with a hint of anger to her tone.

House put the car in park and shut off the engine before turning to face her.

"I've figured out a long time ago that when it comes to dealing with the women in this family, being blunt works wonders and cuts down on a lot of unnecessary bullshit. Now let's go and eat." He told her with no apologies, removing the keys from the ignition before taking his seatbelt off and exiting the car.

**"Hey E I g2g. Don't know when I'll b able 2 text again. Rents giving me crap & might not have a signal up at the cabin."** Jessica hurriedly typed.

"_Jessica……_turn off the cell phone and let's go._" _Cuddy stressed as she unhooked her seatbelt with her eyes staying glued upon House as he walked in front of their car, limping towards the door of the diner as their daughter remained oblivious as to how much she had him on edge right now.

"Ok Mom." Jessica replied, hitting the send button before placing the phone on her lap and taking off her seatbelt as well.

A few seconds later the phone vibrated on her lap, causing Cuddy to snap her head around just as she had started to get out of the car.

"Do I really need to ground you and take away your phone during the last few weeks of summer vacation?" She questioned with a dead serious tone to her daughter.

"I'm turning it off right now!" Jessica informed her mother quickly, knowing that kind of look from her Mom was known to land her in deep shit as she reached for the phone and quickly turned it off.

**"K…I'll ttyl…good luck w/the Rents & hit me up when u can Jbabe lol."**Ethan typed back before placing his phone inside of his pocket and looking out the passenger window of the car with thoughts of Jessica House running inside of his mind as his Ipod played on.

"_And you stood at your door with your hands on my waist _

_And you kissed me like you meant....and I knew, that you meant it. That you meant it, that you meant it.... and I knew that you meant it, that you meant it"_

Glancing back at his son through the rear view mirror of his car, Wilson whispered over to his wife.

"Tomorrow morning we are going to take Ethan out for breakfast, just the three of so we can get the bottom of exactly what is going on between him and Jessica." He informed her with a determined expression upon his face.

"And after that? Are you sure you're ready to talk to House about what we find out?" Cindy questioned from the passenger seat.

Wilson let out a sigh.

"If I know House, he's already suspicious, considering our son and his daughter haven't exactly been very good about hiding the fact that something has changed between them." He replied in another whisper.

Cindy nodded in agreement, while tucking a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear and sneaking a glance at their son in the back seat who was looking out at the passing scenery with a smile upon his face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, one long chapter is here for you to read. Also for people who have asked although you are seeing a lot of the Huddy family right now…there will be House & Cuddy coming up around the bend. Lastly, thanks for the reviews guys!**

**Chapter 5**

"Please …..just let me talk to Jessica first." Cuddy said to House as they walked out of the diner and over to their SUV in the parking lot.

Inside the vehicle, Jessica had already taken up her spot in the backseat. Currently looking down at her Ipod as she scrolled through a selection of songs before leaning backin the seat and listening to the music as she gazed absentmindedly out the passenger window on the opposite side of the vehicle from where her parents were approaching it.

"I'm not going to go apeshit on Jess if that's what you're thinking." House replied back defensively to his wife.

Cuddy grabbed hold of his arm, halting their progress.

"You know Jessica will open up more if I talk to her about Ethan first." She reasoned.

House looked down at Cuddy, knowing that she was of course correct in her statement to him.

"Ok you get talk to her first." He agreed with a nod, "but remember….as soon as you get the goods from our daughter you better give _me_ the lowdown asap so we can nip the tween romance thing in the butt." House stressed to her as they started walking towards the SUV again.

* * *

"It's about time you guys got here!" Ryan yelled as the SUV carrying his parents and his sister pulled up beside the cabin as he ran through the meadow towards it with Ruth and Bill walking hand in hand a few yards behind him.

"He's such a dork." Jessica mumbled in the back seat to herself as she continued to listen to her Ipod even though her smile told of a different impression she had of her brother as he drew closer to the vehicle.

"Looks like someone's on a mega sugar rush thanks to Nana." House commented over to his wife with smirk as they unbuckled their seatbelts. Never taking his eyes off of his blonde headed boy who was so full of life it seemed to radiate off of his skin with an infectious orange aura.

Shaking her head, Cuddy reached for the door handle to her right. The smile on her face growing wider as Ryan made eye contact with her and gave her the kind of look that told of how much her son absolutely adored her.

"Mom! Wait to you see the big fish I caught this morning with Papa out on the boat!" Ryan blurted out, gasping for breath as he reached for her hand a mere second after Cuddy had exited the car.

"So I take it you're having a good time up here?" Cuddy said with a laugh as Ryan held onto her hand tightly.

"It's so cool up her Mom! Last night we saw a fox!" Ryan told her with an excited voice before he looked over to where his Father was now standing beside him.

"And guess what Dad? I saw a crane today! That thing was huge and at first I thought it was going to fly over the boat and crap all over us!" Ryan informed his father as his hand remained clasped in Cuddy's, swinging her arm back and forth with the timed rhythm of a boy who was filled with boundless energy.

At hearing what his son had said House let out a deep laugh, glancing over at Cuddy who's mouth had frowned in disapproval.

"Oh, I get it…. so Ryan can talk about crap and Dad laughs his butt off but god forbid I text on my phone for longer than five minutes." Jessica pointed out with a smart tone from beside Cuddy as she shoved her Ipod into the backpack she had brought with her.

Cuddy snapped her head in the direction of her daughter.

"Jessica, I suggest you think long and hard about the way your speaking to me and your Dad before you dig yourself in any deeper." Cuddy told her daughter with an even tone, knowing that since Jessica had started to get her period a few months ago, the hormones racing inside of her were subject to short bursts of total teenage brattiness.

Jessica darted her eyes away from her Mother, biting her tongue to keep herself from mouthing off again and losing her cell phone for the rest of the summer as she wrinkled her nose at Ryan who was looking up at her with a smirk.

"I'm so glad you guys finally made it up here!" Ruth said with a huge smile as she and Bill joined the group in front of the car after lagging behind their grandson who had taken off at lighting speed.

"Just remember Granny, I expect good food and cold beer during my stay here." House informed his mother-in-law with a smirk as Bill patted him on the back.

"Listen Greg, I have to tell you…… you're boy is really turning out to be quite the fisherman." He informed House proudly while beside them Ryan looked up at both men with a wide, crooked smile.

* * *

Walking inside of the cabin, Cuddy eyes were drawn to the large stone fireplace inside the cozy dining room. The hearth sitting empty for now as the warm breeze of the summer's day flowed through the screen door she had just passed through along with the rest of her family.

To the right of the fireplace was a large sofa, made out of dark emerald green fabric where a beautiful quilt with emerald green patches running through it had been folded neatly on the spine of the sofa.

On the opposite side of the couch where two chairs, one of them and old heavy rocking chair made of cherry, the other a chair literally big enough for two with enormous cushions on the seat and back of the chair bound in deep brown leather.

Connected to the living room was the dining room where a large rectangular cedar table along with six matching chairs resided.

"Mom, this place is really beautiful." Cuddy commented over to Ruth as they made their way into the bright and airy kitchen where a smaller table for two was located.

"I know honey…..I just can't get over the fact that this place is really ours." Ruth responded back to her daughter as Ryan passed by them both and headed straight for the refrigerator.

"Ryan, do you need any help?" Bill asked his grandson while standing beside both House and Jessica.

"Nope, I got it Papa." Ryan replied, sticking out his tongue as he balanced the large serving platter with his hands that he had just pulled out from inside the refrigerator.

"OK…are you guys ready?" The boy asked, keeping his back turned towards his family.

"Actually I think I need to go take a leak." House said with a smirk.

"Stop it." Cuddy scolded over to her husband.

"Go ahead Ryan." She then instructed to her son with a small smile.

Ryan turned around with the large platter in his hands, watching the expressions of surprise on his family's faces.

"You really caught the thing all by yourself?" House asked his son with an impressed tone after seeing the rather large bass that had to be at least a good 16 inches in length lying on the serving platter.

"Yeah Dad, all Papa did was show me how to reel in the line but he let me do it all by myself." Ryan replied back proudly as he continued to hold the platter with his trophy fish out in front of him.

"Did you have to gut it too?" Jessica asked curiously as her eyes moved from the fish on the plate and up to her little brother's face.

"Papa said I need to practice with a pocket knife more, so he cut it open, but when we pulled out it's stomach, Papa cut that open too so we could see what the fish ate beside my worm." Ryan informed his sister with a gleam in his eyes.

"Cool." Jessica remarked with smirk, while beside her Cuddy felt a slight gag reflex in her throat.

"Lisa…..you're not going to faint on us are you?" Bill asked his daughter in law with a soft smile, placing his arm around her shoulders after seeing her reaction to what her son had just said about the fish.

Cuddy chuckled softly. "I'm fine Bill, I guess I'm just a little more squeamish about fish guts then the rest of my family." She assured him as she leaned into his touch affectionately.

* * *

It was after having a late lunch up at the cabin that included the cooking of Ryan's trophy fish that Cuddy finally found herself alone Jessica as the two of them sat side by side on a blanket spread out over the green grass just a few feet away from the pond as Bill was standing on the dock with Ruth showing her how to cast a fishing line into the water while House sat in the small boat with Ryan, allowing the boy to row the craft out to the center of the pond all by himself as the tremendous smile on Ryan's mouth had never wavered since the moment they had arrived.

Cuddy had been staring out at her husband and son in the boat for a few seconds before she finally turned to where Jessica was seated beside her.

"So are you having a good time?" Cuddy asked her daughter softly, watching as Jessica's eyes turned away from the pond as well to gaze into her own.

"Yeah Mom, and I'm sorry about acting like a spoiled brat earlier." Jessica answered with a slight frown.

Cuddylooked into her daughter's amazing blue eyes, knowing that even with the raging hormonesof a teenager insideof her there was still a part of Jess which remained grounded and wise beyond her years. Rationalizing situations that came her way with far more maturity than most girls her age once the temper she inherited from both of her parents was allowed recede back into harmless simmer.

"So are you ready to talk to me about what's going on between you and Ethan?" Cuddyquestioned, still caught in the melancholy truth of how much her little girl had grown up by leaps and bounds into the beautiful young woman now seated beside her.

"Mom…there's nothing to tell." Jessica whispered back to her, having inherited from her Father a slight awkwardness when it came to discussing feelings that ran deep within her heart.

"You can't lie to me Jessica, in fact ever since you were two years old I could always tell by the way your eyes are looking at me right now that you're hiding something from me." Cuddy said gently leaning back an her right arm while her left hand moved a stray lock of long dark hair away from her daughter's face.

Jessica drew in her bottom lip, thinking of how much she did want to confide in her Mother while still wanting just as much to keep her secret…knowing that after she had spoken of it everything for her would change.

It was in that same breath of her indecision that her mind took hold of the situation and suddenly gave her away.

"I kissed Ethan." Jessica confessed in a voice that was surprised at what she was saying.

"Well if my memory serves me correctly …you _have _kissed Ethan before while the two were growing up." Cuddy replied with a soft laugh, trying to ease the wariness in Jess's demeanor while know that the kiss her daughter was talking about had no doubt set her heart on a rollercoaster ride.

"Mom…you know what I mean. It wasn't that kind of kiss." Jessica mumbled, finding it hard to look her mother in the eyes right now.

Watching her daughter lowering her gaze, Cuddy cupped Jessica's cheek.

"And you wonder why both me and your Dad were so worried about you this morning." Cuddy said with a sympathetic tone.

"Mom, there's nothing to be worried about…all we did was kiss." Jessica replied dismissively in the true style of her Father as she raised her eyes to meet her Mother's gaze again.

"_No_…all you did was kiss the person who's been your best friend for as long as you can remember and now you're opening up a whole new door on your relationship with him." Cuddy clarified, studying her daughter's face carefully.

For a few seconds Jessica said nothing. Not really sure what _to say_ about all the things she was feeling inside when it came to Ethan and the way he had sent her head spinning after the kiss they shared.

"So are you finally ready to talk about making out with Ethan?" House questioned to his daughter from above them, seeing the look of shock rise up upon her face as he sat next to her on the blanket.

"I thought we agreed you we're going to wait until I had a chance to talk to Jessica one on one." Cuddysaid evenly to her husband, holding their gaze for a moment before her eyes glanced over at her Mother and Bill who were now sitting inside the small boat on the pond with Ryan as he gripped onto the oars and began rowing them slowly away from the dock.

"I waited. I got bored." House answered back to her bluntly before setting his eyes back onto their daughter who was now glaring at him.

"Way to ditch Ryan with the grandparents because you're so obsessed with what your 'little girl' might have done with the boy you hate." Jessica shot back at her father with a voice that carried an edge to it far beyond that of a thirteen year old girl.

"Jessica!" Cuddy gasped, stunned at how calculated and cold her daughter's words had just been towards her Father.

House however was neither shocked or put off by the bold comment, having waited long enough to find out the truth about his daughter and his best friend's son.

"Nice try ..but you should know if anyone's going to try and make me feel guiltily about my actions…. you're Mom has you trumped by at least twenty five years." He commented back to Jessica with a flat tone before pushing things even farther.

"So… do we need to start talking birth control, now that you've found your endless love?" He added as his gaze remained unwavering on his daughter and the blood of a very protective Father boiled over inside of him.

Jessica took in a harsh, short breath. Feeling as if she had been just stabbed in the chest as she jumped up in a flash from the blanket as her cheeks grew red and her emotions swirled into a fury inside of her.

"Why do you always do that? Why do you always have to blow everything out of proportion when it comes to me and Ethan?" She questioned down to her Father as her hands clenched into fists.

"Because.." House started to say as he reached for his cane resting beside him and stood up.

"Greg stop!" Cuddy pleaded as she got to her feet as well.

"Not a chance." House uttered while keeping his eyes fixed on his daughter as he was far too gone to pull back on the reins now.

"You want to know why I act like this Jess? It's because you're thinking with your hormones instead of your head right now." House told his daughter, again with a unapologetic directness to his tone.

Jessica let out a curt laugh that was so much like her Mother's, House felt a sudden sense of de ja vu quickly pass by him.

"Gee Dad….thanks for having so much faith in me by thinking everything I feel about Ethan is only because I've got these _uncontrollable hormo_nes racing through my body!" She argued back to him with a bite to her tone as she waved her hands in front of her dramatically.

"Jessica ..that's not what you're Dad meant." Cuddy interjected with an calm tone as she stepped between them, hoping to get a hold on the conversation that was quickly spiraling out of control.

"Except I did mean it." House countered, glancing over at his wife briefly before his eyes set upon his daughter once more.

"Whether you like it or not Jessica…. your hormones are fooling you into thinking that the boy with dreamy eyes and cute dimples, who laughs at all of your jokes is going to be the boy who loves you forever. No matter how ridiculous that thought is to anyone who's past the age of seventeen. Right now you're just like all the other little girls in your class who _think_ that suddenly because they get their periods they're equip to handle a relationship with some loser boy who's been ruled over by his own hormones that are telling him to get into you pants by any means necessary!" House lectured as his face grew even more stern with his words now flying out of his lips like bullets towards his daughter.

The first sting of tear crept up in the corner of Jessica's left eye before it rolled silently down her cheek.

"Jessica he didn't mean-" Cuddy started to say softly, reaching out for her daughter as her heart ached at seeing the hurt expression upon her face.

Jessica pulled her arm away from her mother, hot anger mixing in with her pain as her eyes never once left the face of her Father.

"You don't know anything about _how I feel! Especially when it comes to Ethan_ …." She started to say as her voice threaten to crack, "and the sad part is you've never even tired too understand because you wrote Ethan off a long time ago when the two of us were just kids and he made the mistake of wanting to be my friend. So now all you do is make stupid wise ass remarks to Ethan every chance you get because you can't accept the fact that Ethan and I have something special between us even if we're only two stupid and naïve kids in your eyes!" Jessica finished as she took in a shaky breath, feeling another tear roll down her cheek before she turned on her heels, running up the small embankment in front of her ……wanting to be anywhere but where her Father was right now.

"Oh no… it looks like Dad and Jessica are fighting again." Ryan said from the boat with a slight frown, having watched his Dad and sister on the shoreline as their voices had become louder.

"Don't' worry Ryan, your Dad and your sister will end up working things out just like they always do." Ruth assured her grandson, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze while not letting on that seeing the way Jessica had ran away from House just now set off a wave of concern from inside of her as well.

"Jessica wait!" Cuddy yelled out, getting ready to run up the hill after her but being stopped as House took hold of her arm.

"Let her go." House mumbled as he looked down at her.

Cuddy pulled her arm out his grasp.

"You did exactly what you promised me you wouldn't do!" Cuddy yelled at him as her jaw set and she clenched her teeth.

"I told her exactly what she needed to hear!" House yelled back her.

"No, you told her exactly what _you _needed to hear!" Cuddy argued back at him with the summer sun blazing behind her.

House studied her face, seeing in her eyes the same type of disappointment that had appeared long ago in their past when he had been hooked on vicodin and a miserable bastard to her as well as everyone else who had cared about him back then.

He reached out for her arm again, holding onto it gently as he cleared her throat.

"I'll go and find Jess and talk to her." He said in a low whisper to her before turning and heading up the small hill, never wanting to see that look on his wife's face again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Just inside the forest that surrounded her grandparents cabin, Jessica sat upon a large and ancient boulder which had been around since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, lifting her head from where it had been resting on top of her knees as she heard the sound of a twig snapping, accompanied shortly there after by the unmistakable dull thud of cane beneath the rocky ground.

"Just leave me alone Dad." Jessica muttered out into the trees surrounding her. Wiping the tears from her eyes and taking in a deep breath as Father came into view after moving past a small grouping of skinny, young pines trees around six feet in height.

"Sorry, but according to the law I'm legally allowed to stalk you until you turn eighteen." House replied back to as her, reaching the large boulder and sitting down next to her on the rock.

Jessica turned her head away from him. Biting down hard on her bottom lip to keep herself from crying again.

"So …do you hate me now?" He asked in a soft voice as his eyes traced the loose ringlets of her long, dark hair.

Jessica turned her head to look at him once more, taking a deep breath through her nose.

_God she wanted so much to say yes to him right now. To make him hurt as much as he had hurt her._

"No…I don't hate you." She found herself saying instead in a sad voice that didn't know whether or not to hold onto her anger at this point.

The look upon her face had been enough to send a chill of regret down House's spine, her expression so tormented in the complexity of all the emotions she was feeling as she struggled to break free from the girl she had once been, hell bent on becoming the young woman she dreamed of being.

"Jess…I'm not sorry about what I said to you earlier, but I am sorry about they _way _I said it to you. I know I was acting like an ass…but when it comes to the people I love that's just part of who I am. And just for the record, I want you to know I only make smart ass remarks to the people who I actually like." He told her with a soft tone while gently placing an arm around her shoulders and gazing down at his little girl who was growing more and more beautiful with each passing day.

Jessica looked up at him with a frown still remaining on her face. "Dad…you make smart ass remarks to everyone……regardless of whether you like them or not." She pointed out to him, still hurting from the words he had spoken to her earlier.

"See? That only goes to show that deep down in side _I really am_a nice guy who just so happens to be a smartass to everyone." House reasoned to her as his fingers curled around the curve of her shoulder as he pulled her closer to him.

"Dad….do you really like Ethan?" Jessica asked him softly.

The tone and innocence in her voice sent another chill down House's spine as it reminded him of how much his daughter truly did value his opinion.

House nodded in confirmation to her question.

"I actually like Ethan a lot. He's a smart kid and he's been a really good friend to you. Which is why I'm so pissed off at the fact that he went ahead and screwed things up by kissing you." He confessed to her, feeling his throat tighten a bit at how vulnerable his thirteen year old daughter was making him feel right now.

"Actually Dad….." Jessica started to say with a blush rising to her cheeks.

"I was the one who wanted to kiss Ethan …and not the other way around." She informed him with a small, shy smile.

"Wait? So this was all your doing?" House asked with surprise as he pulled away from her slightly while keeping his arm around her shoulders.

"Dad, can we just drop it? I really don't want to talk about it..ok?" Jessica muttered as she felt a flush of embarrassment creeping back onto her cheeks.

"Too late Jess….. now spill it." House replied dryly as the option for her to retreat from the subject now was out of the question.

From the look on her Father's face, Jessica knew she was not going to get off of the boulder without telling him what had happened between her and Ethan.

"Fine…" She muttered again, rolling her eyes.

"When we were down in Ethan's basement, I asked Ethan if he ever French kissed anyone before and when he said he didn't, I told him that we should kiss each other just in case we ever wanted to kiss anyone else so we'd look like we knew what we were doing. " Jessica started to explain.

"And at first I really was just curious about what it would feel like to kiss someone that way….. but then once we started kissing…. I……..oh god this is _so embarrassing_…." She suddenly blurted out with a grimace as her nose wrinkled and her eyes darted away from her Father's intense gaze.

House restrained himself from laughing at the rather amusing situation, seeing how truly innocence the kiss between Ethan and Jessica had been even though there had been tongues involved.

"So exactly how long have you known about French kissing anyway?" He asked her, hoping to get Jessica past her embarrassment now that they had made amends with each other and were back on the right back.

Jessica lifted her head with a dumfounded expression upon her face.

"Dad…. I've seen you and Mom French kissing each other all the time ever since I was little." She stated to him as if he was the stupidest person on earth at that moment.

"Wait…..what? We don't .. I mean your Mom and I …we….." House started to say, now fumbling over his own words.

Jessica let out a short laugh filled with sarcasm.

"Oh please Dad, believe it or not sometimes I do see you guys when you think I'm not looking and the two of you start sucking face. And by the way Ryan seen you two kissing as well….. like when we're all watching a movie together down in the basement and you and Mom are curled up on the couch together like a bunch of _hormonal teenagers_." Jessica told him smartly, throwing back some of the words he had used on her earlier down by the pond in true smartass fashion.

"Oh god……" House muttered, taking his hand off of her shoulder and now running it over his face as he felt a flush of embarrassment move up into his cheeks. "So then _I'm _the one to blame for you suddenly wanting to be the make out queen of Princeton Junior High?" He questioned to her with disbelief.

Jessica rolled her eyes at him, "I hardly thinking kissing _one guy _makes me a make out queen." She replied back to him dryly.

House studied her face for a moment. His little girl emerging into the kind of women men would fall all over themselves just to be near.

"Well then, you do understand that as your Father it's my job to scare the living crap out of Ethan and make sure he keeps his raging hormones in check." He advised her a second later in no uncertain terms.

Jessica's brow furrowed, "Dad please…" She started to say.

"There is no negotiating room on this." House interrupted, "you don't want me to treat you like you're still a little girl so I won't. Which means I'll be treating you like a teenager …and teenager girls like you are not allowed to studying up in your bedroom with Ethan while the door's closed because history has shown that's primo make out time, and from now on if Ethan wants you to go anywhere with him…he has to come and check with me first."

Jessica looked up at her Father, arching an eyebrow.

"Anything else I need to know… like maybe that you have a chastity belt waiting for me when I get home?" She asked him in a cool tone.

"How in the hell do you know what a chastity belt is?" House barked in disbelief once more.

"Well you see Daddy…there's this thing called the library at school and….." Jessica started to say with a slow drawl as she gave him an innocent yet oh so devious expression.

House placed the palm of his hand over her mouth and held their gaze, studying her face intently as he felt her smile against his skin.

She was without a doubt, his kid in every sense of the word. Which of course meant when it came to the sarcasm as well as the intellectual department, Jessica was _years _ahead of the other kids her age.

Keeping his hand over her mouth, he spoke once more.

"Just remember even though you've think you know all there is to know about French kissing and chastity belts, you're still only thirteen years old. Which means that when comes to boys sniffing around you, including Ethan Wilson I'm going to be their worst nightmare for a very, very long time." House informed his daughter in no uncertain terms as his eyes remained focused intently on her own.

Jessica pulled his hand away from her mouth.

"Dad please, Ethan is different ..he's my best friend and-" Jessica tried to argued back to him.

"I know he's your best friend." House interrupted, "but Ethan is also a boy who's about to turn thirteen in a few months and when boys hit puberty it a known fact their minds drop into their crotches." He finished.

Jessica wrinkled her nose in disgust at him, "Please Dad, don't be too mean to Ethan. You know he would never hurt me and believe it or not we are more than a couple of dumb kids hopped up on our hormones." She replied back to him with a direct tone of her own.

House nodded in agreement to her statement which he knew would catch her off guard. "Oh I know that. Which is why I'm going to be keeping a close on the both of you." He told her casually.

Jessica shook her head in confusion. "Wait, so because you agree that Ethan and I are more mature than most kids our age, you're still going to be hovering over us like a vulture?" She asked.

Again House nodded. "Yep, because you and Ethan will be more devious than the average tween when it comes to trying to sneak away and suck face with each other." He informed her.

Jessica rolled her eyes at him. "I love how you think you've got me all figured out." She replied flatly with an upset expression, getting up off of the rock and brushing the back of her jeans off with her palms of her hands.

House smirked, no way he was falling for that fake look of hurt upon her face just now.

"Nice try kid, but until you're eighteen and out of my house you will play by _my rules._" He told her in no uncertain terms, getting up off of the rock as well.

His remark made Jessica smile widely, her blue eyes shimmering as she looked up at her father.

"What?" House questioned to her with confusion.

Jessica took a step closer to her Father, the impish smile still on her face.

"You never play my the rules." She whispered up to him before turning and walking briskly towards the small worn path that would lead her out of the forest.

"Don't test me!" House yelled out to her with a grimace, thinking that if he actually survived the next five years of his daughter's love life he better damn well get the purple heart along with lots of grateful hot sex from his wife for keeping Jessica firmly grounded while she continued to struggle against him with all of her might.

* * *

After talking things out with his daughter, House and Jessica returned to the cabin, finding Bill and Ryan about to head out into the forest to collect some firewood for a campfire they were planning on having tonight as Lisa and Ruth were inside the kitchen, preparing some of the food they were planning on making in few hours from now out on the gas grill located near where the round fire pit located.

As soon as he stepped into the kitchen House was met with the gaze of not only his wife, but of course his mother-in-law as well.

"Where's Jessica?" Cuddy asked him immediately with the worry lines rising up on her forehead.

"Relax, she went with Bill and Ryan to collect some firewood for the campfire tonight." He told her, walking over to both woman and reaching between them to snag a slice of cucumber Ruth had just cut up for the salad she was preparing.

"So are things ok between the two of you now?" Ruth asked him with the same look of worrying on her face as well.

"Listen Granny, the only reason I tolerate you is because you feed me. Now scram so I can talk to my wife in private." House told her with a mock face of distain.

Ruth rolled her eyes at him, wiping her hands off with a towel before she turned to leave, halting just as she went to pass by her daughter.

"Make sure to fill me in later on what Dr. Crabbypants has to say for himself." She then said to Lisa, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder before she turned and left for good.

"So, how did things go between you and Jess?" Cuddy asked after her mother had left them alone as she started to dice a large tomato that she was planning on adding into the salad.

House snagged another piece of cucumber, "Ok since I decided against killing Ethan and burying his body up on this mountain." He replied back to her as he watched her hands in motion.

"Greg," Cuddy said, putting the knife down and wiping her hands clean with the dishcloth beside her.

"I need to know the two of you are ok and that Jess feels she can come to us and be honest about what's going on between her and Ethan." She stressed as she turned to face him.

House looked down at her and rolled his eyes.

"If you really think Jess is going to tell us _everything _about what's going on between her and Ethan ….you're more Snow White and less Jessica Rabbit than I thought you were." He answered back to her.

Cuddy let out a sigh of her own and took a step closer to him.

"Greg, I'm not naïve, but I do want to be sure that both you and Jessica survive her being a teenager for the next few years." She said to him, placing a hand upon his chest.

"Well if you really want to make sure I'll survive I suggest lots and lots of sex to keep my testosterone level as low as possible." House commented back to her with a sly grin.

* * *

It was several hours later and after everyone else had gone to bed after eating dinner by the campfire that House and Cuddy sat side by side on a two person cedar wood glider in front of the fire as the flames continued to dance before them.

"I wanted to tell you I got a chance to talk to Jessica while she was helping me do the dishes and from what she told me….you were really good with her today." Cuddy whispered over to House, resting her head on his shoulder as she stared over at the crackling fire before them.

It was really nice to be here with him like this, cozy and warm together with a large quilt wrapped around the both of them because of the sudden drop in temperature once midnight had come along, his arm wrapped around her shoulders as their feet gently pushed the glider back and forth.

House turned his head in her direction.

"So does this mean I get to have cabin sex with you tonight?" He asked her with a smirk as the flames of the fire cast a soft light upon her face. Revealing that even though several years had pasts since they had first been married, Lisa Cuddy was still just a beautiful as the first day he had met her back in Michigan. With time adding an even deeper quality to her beauty because of what she had become to him now. Her devotion and love for him making her the sole keeper of his heart.

The Mother of his children, without a doubt in his mind the glue that held their small family together, keeping them connected and on the right path with an ease that was truly amazing to witness at times.

"You know….I actually though you'd want to go skinning dipping in the pond and have sex with me out in the water instead." Cuddy commented back to him with a sexy smile while moving her hand to his thigh and giving it a squeeze as she looked up at him.

"There's now way _in hell _I'm going swimming in that pond and risk exposing 'Little Greg' to whatever creatures may be lurking inside of it. Especially not after seeing that monster of fish Ryan pulled out of there." House informed his wife, watching her laughing softly at him after hearing the words he had spoken to her.

"I guess I can see your point." Cuddy agreed as her eyes roamed over the coarse hair of her husband's beard. Thinking of how his appearance matched the environment they were in right now rather well. Her tall, rugged man, here with her in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a deep forest.

"You're thinking about having sex with me right now ..aren't you?" House whispered over to her with a sly smile on his face as he saw a flame rise up into her eyes that had not been caused by the fire.

"_Maaaybe." _Cuddy replied to him in slow and very cute whisper before biting down on her bottom lip as she leaned into him.

House took the opportunity to capture her lips with his own, kissing her slowly as their tongues moved between each other mouths and the fire in front of them crackled with approval at the heat they were creating.

"Come on." He said to her a second later in a low whisper as their lips parted. Reaching for her hand as he got up from the glider with the quilt falling off from around his shoulders.

"Where are we going?" Cuddy askedhim with interest while getting up as well.

"You'll see." House told her with a grin, reaching for quilt and folding it in half before placing it over his shoulder.

* * *

A few minutes later, and on the shoreline of the pond where the water sparkled like a thousand diamonds under the glow of fat moon, House and Cuddy were now lying naked on top of the large quilt, having been slowly freed from their clothing as their kisses turned more passionate and the heat between them increased.

"Are you cold?" House asked his wife in another low whisper. Looking down at her as he nudged her thighs further apart, thereby allowing him to press his body closer to her own.

"I'm fine." Cuddy assured him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down into another deep kiss as beside them the sound of the croaking frogs lining the pond moved through the night air around them.

As their mouths stayed connected, House moved his hands up Cuddy's sides. The kiss between them, causing his heart to race.

Cuddy moaned softly into his mouth. Her left hand moving to his back and pulling him closer as her left leg hooked around his hip.

Her senses heightened by the fact that there were about to have sex underneath a million stars beside a pond where the small rippled of the waves flowed like black silk while the tall trees above them in middle of forest promised to keep this secret just between the three of them.

House moved his hand up to Cuddy's breast, releasing her lips just as he cupped it and rolled his thumb across her peaked nipple.

He looked down at her face illuminated in the moonlight as she smiled up at him. Her head lifting a bit as she kissed his bottom lip.

"I can't believe we're actually out here doing this." She whispered into his skin in the kind of voice that was usually found in lovers much younger than they were

House smiled down at her, continuing to gently caress the weight of her full breast in the palm of his hand.

"Just think Lisa, from now on every time you walk over this patch of grass you'll remember us just like we are now. With me on top of you, beside this pond and underneath the stars." He said to her in a voice that was deep but soft just before pushing his erection inside of her.

He felt her hands gripping onto his shoulders and her hot breath kissing the side of his neck as he penetrated her. His mouth taking in a breath as well at feeling the heat inside of her surrounding every inch of him as the cool night air rolled over his back.

Cuddy kissed his cheek, wrapping her legs around his waist just before House lowered his head and took her taut nipple into his mouth. The rhythm between them starting off slow as his pumped in and out of her, letting out a low moan into her breast as his tongue rolled over her nipple.

Cuddy cupped the back of House's neck, kissing the crown of his head as her eyes looked up at the night sky. Her breathing becoming hard and fast as he swiveled his hips. Driving deeper inside of her with each thrust now as he abandoned her breast and his eyes rose to meet her own. Filling her up and completing her in everyway a man is supposed to.

"I love you." He whispered down to her hoarsely just before Cuddy captured his lips once more. The soft rustling of the quilt occurring beneath them as House pressed his palms firmly into the fabric, rising up and angling his hips even more as her back arched up to meet him. The rhythm between them remaining slow and steady as the endless tides of sea.

"Greg…oh god." Cuddy whispered in desperation a few seconds later as the kind of perfection they made together came running through her body. Her hands trembling in its wake as they slid down to his biceps, gripping them tightly as her pelvis now rocked faster into his.

She breathed out a moan of passion as House pulled her closer to him choking out her name in a whipser.

With his head buried in the silkiness of her hair, House breathed in everything that was her, closing his eyes as he came inside of her just as her silk walls had started to tightened around him. A smile forming on his lips as she muffled a cry ecstasy into the side of his neck with the frogs around them suddenly stopping their serenade as the foreign sound move over to where they were hidden between he blades of long grass that grew along the shoreline of the pond.

"You know it's a good thing we don't have to worry about waking up any neighbors." House whispered down to Cuddy as their foreheads connect while trying to catch his breath. Feeling the vibration in his chest as she laughed underneath him and they held each other close. Feeling at that moment that they could not have been in a more perfect place in the world then where they were right now.

* * *

The next morning House awoke to possibly two of the most wonderful things a man could hope for as he was drawn into the start a new day. The first being the warm, soft body of his wife pressed up against him as they lay side by side facing each other with her arm draped over his waist as she continued to sleep. The second being the amazing smell of someone cooking breakfast down in the kitchen as the mouthwatering aroma of bacon drifted up to the second floor of the cabin and into the spare bedroom where they were located.

With a sleepy smile, House moved his hand down to Cuddy ass, giving it a soft squeeze as he eyes stayed locked upon her face.

"Mmmmmm…." Cuddy hummed with a smile of her own, blinking her eyes open as she focused in on House's face.

"Good morning sex kitten. All rested up from our romp out by the pond last night?" He asked her with a grin when all of a sudden the urge for his hand to leave go of her ass and place it onto his own ass came over him.

"What on earth are you doing?" Cuddy asked with confused expression, sitting up in the bed as she watched her husband shove his hand down the back of his pajama bottoms.

"Dammit! I got bit by a mosquito last night!" House grumbled with his fingers now scratching at the three small, round bumps smack in the center of his left ass cheek.

Cuddy let out a hearty laugh, "Oh… I've gotta see this." She said with a grin before reaching over and yanking his pajama bottoms down and away from his behind.

"Quit scratching!" She scolded a second later, smacking his hand away and laughing again as she looked down at the three small raised bites on the center of his ass.

"Get away from me you heartless wench! This is all your fault anyway." House growled, rolling onto his back and out of her reach.

"How is it my fault?" Cuddy asked with a surprised expression.

"Because _you _wanted sex last night. And by the way, the next time we have sex outside… you get to be one top so some misquote can make a feast out of your ass." House informed her, pulling his pants up to his waist again as Cuddy continued to laugh at him before the vibrating of his cell phone next to the bed silenced her.

"I'm surprised you have a signal out here." Cuddy commented, watching as House turned to his left and grabbed the phone off of the nightstand.

"It's Wilson." House informed her, sitting up in the bed and leaning back against the headboard as he answered it.

"Hey Wilson. Still mouth deep in Cindy's boobs this morning?" He asked his friend with a smirk as Cuddy smacked his arm before leaning back against the headboard as well.

"Very funny House." Wilson replied, holding back his smile as he looked down at his wife's breasts while she stood beside on the boardwalk.

"Actually I was calling to see if you've found out yet about Ethan and Jessica kissing down in my basement the last night." He continued looking down the boardwalk as Ethan walked into a small arcade shop a few shops down from where he was standing.

House shot a disgruntled look over to Cuddy before answering.

"Yes, unfortunately my daughter told me about the dreaded tonsil hockey incident with your pervert of a son yesterday." He confirmed as a slight frown moved onto to his lips.

Wilson shook his head while looking over at his wife.

"Ok, first of all my son is not a pervert. He's a twelve year old boy who is just as new and inexperienced at this as Jessica is… and secondly. What are we going to do to make sure all these two do end up doing for a very long time is kissing each other and nothing more." He responded.

Again House looked over at Cuddy as his jaw set. At least Wilson and he assumed Cindy as well were in the same frame of mind as he and Lisa were in making sure both kids did not move too fast in their new found relationship.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to make sure that whenever Jess and Ethan are together…. one of us is going to be with them." House informed his friend while catching the disapproving look Cuddy was giving him as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Sounds good to me." Wilson agreed with a nod just as he saw Ethan leave the arcade and head back in his direction.

"Listen House, I need to get going but once you guys get back from the cabin we need to get together and talk about how we're going to keep an eye on Ethan and Jessica so we don't end up being grandparents before our time." He added just as the strange thought suddenly popped into his head.

Hearing what Wilson had said to him, House closed his eyes briefly and exhaled deeply through his nose before opening them back up.

"If you ever say that word Grandparent to me again in regards to your son and my daughter …I will kill you." House muttered into the phone before hanging up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone ;) Well here's a somewhat shorter chapter for you...but I really liked the way it turned out. Also, for those asking about a Ryan and House moment.....it will becoming up within the next few chapters ;)**

**Chapter 7**

That Sunday evening, Wilson, Cindy and Ethan were over at House's and Cuddy's place to have dinner with their friends as well as maybe even a dip in the pool later on.

Currently however, as the evening sun was starting to dip below the horizon Jessica, Ethan and Ryan were in the backyard with a neighborhood friend of Ryan's named Jacob. The two younger boys, tossing a football back and forth and running after each other every now then to practice their 'tackling skills' as Jessica and Ethan stood side by side, leaning against one of the tall and mighty oaks that had been planted years ago amongst the green lawn.

"So how embarrassing was it for you to tell your parents about our kiss?" Jessica asked Ethan with a grimace while noticing how Ethan's newly acquired beach tan brought out the color of his pale blue eyes even more, causing her to inadvertently bite down on her bottom lip with delight.

Ethan shook his head and let out a sigh, "I don't know what was worse. My Dad telling me that I really don't want to be a Father at the age of twelve _or _my Mom telling me that I need to made sure and respect you as a young woman." He confessed, shoving his hands into the front pocket of his jeans with the fingers of his right hand curling around the small jewelry box he had placed inside of his jeans just before he and his parents had come over here.

"Hey Ethan! Will you throw a pass at us?" Ryan yelled over to him from the center of the lawn, interrupting his conversation with Jessica for the moment.

Ethan looked over at Jessica's younger brother who currently had a hopeful smile stretching the corners of his mouth.

He nodded at the boy. 'Throw me the ball and then you and Jacob go deep." Ethan instructed, laughing slightly as Ryan tossed up a hail Mary pass in his direction with all of his might, letting out a grunt before he took off running with his friend.

Taking a step forward Ethan easily caught the ball with before sending a long pass sailing over the two boys heads, watching for moment with a small smile on his face as they raced each other to get to football that had taken a bounce towards a group of shrubs near the far right hand corner of the lawn.

He then turned his attention back to Jessica, thinking she had gotten even moer beautriful since the last time he has seen her.....even if it had only been two days.

"Hey…I ummm ....I got you something while I was at the shore." Ethan said to her shyly, watching the way Jessica's eyes widened with surprise.

"You did?" Jessica asked with a smirk while placing a hand on her hip.

Ethan nodded again, reaching inside the deep pocket of his loose fitting jeans.

"Here." He said to her a second later, handing her the small black jewelry box and hoping like hell she would like what he got for her.

Jessica took the small box from him, feeling the spark of electricity run through her body when their fingers came in contact with one another.

Holding the box in the palm of her right hand, she opened the lid with the fingers of her left hand.

A small gasp escaped her mouth, her blues eyes mesmerized but what was inside of the box.

"Do you like it?" Ethan asked with a hint of worry in his tone, rubbing the back his neck with the palm of his hand as he looked down at her.

Jessica nodded as she touched the thin gold chain of the necklace he had bought for her with a small starfish pendant attached to it.

"I love it." She whispered up to him as a smile moved across her face.

"It's real gold….so you won't have to worry about it turning your neck green or anything." Ethan assured her with the kind of sincerity that made the smile on Jessica's face widened all the more as she continued to look up at him.

"Thank you so much Ethan." She said in a soft voice.

"Would you help me put it on?" Jessica asked next as she carefully started to move the delicate gold chain out from its display box.

Ethan nodded, silently watching as Jessica freed the necklace from the tiny black box before handing the now empty box back to him as she pulled her long dark hair away from her neck.

Ethan placed the box back into the front pocket of his jeans.

"Here." Jessica said after he had tucked the box away, handing Ethan the necklace before turning around so that her back was facing him.

Undoing the clasp, Ethan leaned forward as and moved the necklace over Jessica's head so that the pendant would rest on the base of her throat, his breath becoming lodged in his throat for a moment as he took in the scent of Jessica's shampoo that smelled as sweet as the girl who was standing before him.

"Ok." He told her, clearing his throat nervously once he had closed the clasp again and watching in awe as Jessica let go of the long dark hair, allowing it to run freely down her back once more.

"So how does it look?" Jessica asked him as she turned around to face him with another gorgeous smile.

"Beautiful." Ethan answered softly, moving his hand to her hip with his head lowering and finding her lips as his kissed her under the oak tree, his breath leaving him once more as Jessica's hand moved up to caress his jaw.

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww! You guys are gross!" Ryan yelled in disgust before launching the football at his sister and Ethan which landed harmlessly at their feet before bouncing up and hitting Ethan square in the balls.

"Ryan!" Jessica yelled out in surprise as Ethan double over in front of her, falling onto his knees.

"Oh my god! Are you ok?" She asked with a concern, placing her hand upon Ethan's shoulder.

"Just….just give me a minute." Ethan wheezed as he closed his eyes.

Jessica snapped her head up in the direction of her brother.

"You're dead!" She yelled at him as her blue eyes narrowed in on his face just before she took off like a lighting bolt.

"Run Ryan!" Jacob yelled, backing up and out of the way as his friend's older sister came at them both like a raging bull.

With all his might Ryan ran at full speed, jumping over a small shrub and rounding the corner of the lawn that would lead him to the front yard, nearly making it to the front door before Jessica grabbed hold of him and wrestled him to the ground so that he was lying flat on his back with her hands pinning his wrists above his head.

"Why did do that you little brat?" She asked him with angry tone as they both gasped for air.

"It was an accident Jessie!" Ryan answered back to her, while failing miserably at the lie as his smile gave him away.

"I should beat the crap out of you!" Jessica hissed down to him with cold glare.

"Why did you have to kiss Ethan anyway? Why can't the two of you just be friends like before?" Ryan questioned up to her with all the conviction of a nine year old boy who still thought girls were kinda gross.

Jessica huffed in frustration. "You wouldn't understand." She grumbled before letting go of his wrists as she got to her feet once more, starting to walk away from him and towards the backyard.

"I'm not dumb you know. I just can't figure out why you want to kiss Ethan now all of sudden when you guys have been best friends forever that's all." Ryan informed her in a defensive tone, quickly getting to his feet before running to catch up with her.

Jessica turned around to face him and exhaled deeply. "Ryan ….some day when you're my age, you'll end up meeting a girl that makes you feel different than any other person you've ever met before. And when you're not around her, all you'll think about is when you're going to see her again because she makes you feel different in the _best kind of way _when you're together. Like the two of you have a bond that no one else has." Jessica tried to explain as her brother wrinkled his nose at her with utter confusion.

"You know Jessica, ever since you started getting boobs you've been acting like a complete weirdo." Ryan informed his sister bluntly.

"Is that so?" Jessica asked him as she took a step closer to Ryan, however only barely towering above him because of her petite stature and his above average height thanks to the genes he inherited from their Father.

"Yeah." Ryan whispered up to her with a crooked smile, "but I guess if you're going to kiss some boy I'd want you to kiss Ethan because he knows you the best…even when you do act like a weirdo." He then added as his smile softened a bit.

Jessica shook her head in dismay.

"You know Ryan, when you say things like that, I'm actually glad Mom didn't let me drop you on your head when you were a baby like I wanted to." She remarked with a wicked grin as she shoved her brother back onto the ground again before headed towards the backyard once more.

* * *

Meanwhile from inside the kitchen, House had been watching the kids in the backyard as he stood by the window next to the sink, his eyes trailing after Jessica as she had chased after Ryan until they both had disappeared out of sight.

Taking a few sips of from the beer in his hand, his mind processed everything he had witnessed. Including the second kiss between Ethan and Jessica while behind him Cuddy, Wilson and Cindy continued to talk about how they were going to make sure both kids did not move too quickly in their newly budding romance.

Still keeping his eyes fixed on the kids in the backyard, House watched as Jessica, followed by Ryan made theri way back over to Ethan. A smirk rising up on his own mouth as he remember how his son had nailed 'dimple boy' in the nuts.

With his sister standing beside him, House watched as Ryan apologized to Ethan who was towering above him, curretly holding the football in his hands.

Wilson's son was, without a doubt, what every teeage girl dreamed of.....strong, handsome and with a smile that would turn them into a puddle of goo.

Taking another sip of his beer, House zoned in on Ethan's face as the boy uttered something to Ryan that had made his son smile.

It seemed it was a quick forgiveness for Ryan's actions before his son took off like a rocket, being followed soon after by his friend Jacob as Ethan pulled his arm back and sent the football flying high in the air for the two boys to chase after.

"He's such a dork." Jessica said with a laugh as Ryan and Jacob ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Actually I think _you're t_he biggest dork I know!" Ethan teased with a wide smile, reaching out and pulling Jessica closer to him before her hoisted her over his right shoulder and started to spin her around.

The sound of her laughter filled the backyard, filtering up through the screen inside the kitchen just as Ryan dove for the football which was quickly falling towards the ground. Catching it and rolling onto his back better than any NFL player House had ever seen.

"I caught it guys! I got the ball!" Ryan shouted triumphantly, receiving a high five from Jacob as Ethan placed Jessica back onto the ground with her hands immediately latching onto his t-shirt.

"Ethan! I'm so dizzy!" Jessica exclaimed with a laugh as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Ethan whispered down to her as he watched the way the sun reflected off the small starfish pendant dangling just below her throat, wondering what it would feel like to kiss her there.

Back inside the kitchen, House watched as Ryan ran up to both Ethan and Jessica with Jacob trailing behind them, receiving a high five from Wilson's son as well as his sister who had turned to face him while Ethan's right hand slid down to hold onto her hip.

"House? Something you want to share with us?" Wilson asked from the kitchen table, noticing the frown on his best friend's face as he peered out at their kids in the backyard.

Clearing his throat, House set his eyes on his Wilson, his thoughts raging inside of him like a hurricane even though they had been silent in their approach.

"You just make sure Ethan realizes that my daughter believes with all of her heart she's in love with him....and.....if Ethan ends up breaking her heart I'm going to hold _you _responsible." House told his friend in no uncertain terms as the glaring truth of how easily Ethan Wilson held Jessica's heart in the palm of his hand continued to gnaw at him with an unrelenting ache.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok guys ...this weekend is going to be reallly crazy for me starting on Friday and I won't be around much at all so I decided to work on this next chapter early and post it today. Hope you enjoy it and let me know you're thoughts ;)**

**Chapter 8**

It was two weeks later and on a Friday evening that Cuddy, Jessica and Ryan had stopped by the local grocery a few miles away from their home after Cuddy had picked Ryan up from his piano lessons and Jessica from her diving practice, with House remaining at the hospital as he was knee deep into a new case at the moment.

Within the two weeks that had passed, Jessica and Ethan continued to 'date' each other as much as a pair of kids their age could, while of course being under the watchful eyes of their parents. However, the two of them did still manage to slip away together from time to time in order to share a few more kisses that left their young hearts racing afterwards.

Presently now inside of the grocery store, Jessica had taken off with Ryan towards the cereal aisle. Leaving Cuddy standing by herself in the produce department of the supermarket. Deciding on whether or not to buy the Fugi apples which where on sale this week or the Bartlett pears that were a little pricier but looked absolutely delicious.

"Lisa?" A man's voice questioned from behind her, causing Cuddy to turn around to see who had spoken her name.

Her eyes grew wide. "Jack?" Cuddy said with surprise. Now standing face to face with her ex-fiancé from so many years ago.

"I thought_t _that was you. Wow…you look _amazing_." Jack replied back to her in that easy voice of his that flowed as smoothly as a finely aged wine as it passes over ones tongue.

His eyes took in every feature of his ex lover's still strikingly beautiful face, gazing down next at her perfectly toned body as a deep seeded smile of appreciation moved quickly across his lips.

"I see you haven't changed a bit when it comes to trying to charm as many woman as you can off their feet." Cuddy replied coolly back to him as her defenses rose up in an instant as she studied his face and the pair of intense green eyes currently staring back at her.

His jaw was set in a strong confident manner. His dark brown hair, starting to grey at his temples and giving him even more of a distinguished look while his well tailored Armani suit revealed his body was still just as tall and well built as it had ever been.

She would have expected nothing less of the man who essential left her heart so broken when he had cheated on her all those years ago that she had thought for a time it may never completely heal. The man who she once loved right down to the very core of her being....one who craved ambition and success as much as she did. The way his sea green eyes were looking at her now with his easy smile accompanying it, reminding her of how she had at one time thought that he was everything she could ever want or need in a companion and lover. That was of our course until the day she found out about him sneaking around with one the nurses at the hospital......causing all her hopes and dreams of the perfect future they would have shared together to come crashing down at her feet.

"Mom! Ryan wants to get Coco Pebbles but we got them last time we went shopping and you said it was my turn to pick out the cereal!" Jessica announced as she entered into the produce aisle, with her blue eyes blazing and her dark hair swaying behind her back. Heading straight for her Mother with a box of Honeycomb cereal tucked under her left arm as Ryan trailed after her with a small smirk on his face and his arms wrapped around the scorned box of Coco Pebbles.

Seeing both of her children halt before her and look up at the tall stranger in front of them with curiosity, Cuddy went ahead and introduced them to the man who now seemed to be of another era when it came to her past.

"Jack, this is my daughter Jessica and my son Ryan." Cuddy explained, watching as he smiled down at her children.

"Jessica and Ryan huh? Wow Lisa, I must say you are continuing to surprise me today." Jack remarked over to her as he held their gaze for a moment before looking back down at the children beside him.

"Well Jessica and Ryan, it's nice to meet both of you." He then said casually, adding an extra layer to the easy smile upon his face.

"So who exactly _are _you anyway?" Jessica asked bluntly, not particularly liking the way the man had been looking at her Mom a moment ago as she had walked down the aisle towards them.

"Jessica…there's not need to be rude." Cuddy scolded, shocked for a moment by her daughter's strong reaction.

"It's ok Lisa….I'm sure it's not everyday you get approached by strange men in the grocery store." Jack joked with a soft laugh while thinking to himself how the young girl currently glaring up at him with her hand on her hip resembled her Mother to a tee. From her long, dark hair to her strong cheekbones, with the difference in their features being the girl's piercing blue eyes that he could have sworn he had seen somewhere before.

"So do you work for my Mom or something?" Jessica pushed as she kept her eyes fixed on the man dressed in the expensive charcoal suit.

"Actually, I used to a long time ago." Jack explained with a smile and a nod, watching as the girl's younger brother moved closer to Lisa while staring up at him with a pair of vibrant grey eyes that were a dead on match for her own.

"Mom, can we _please _get Coco Pebbles? Me and Dad like them the best and Jessica always gets those stupid Honeycombs that _nobody_ likes." Ryan asked his Mother, turning his back towards the man who he wished would go away and leave them alone as he too felt an uneasiness about the stranger that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Ryan, you picked out the cereal last week which means it's Jessica's turn now." Cuddy reminded her son as she felt the heat of Jack's gaze upon her.

Ryan let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine….I'll put it back." He mumbled a second later, shifting his eyes up to the man towering above him before turning around and heading over to the cereal aisle again.

"Jessica…" Cuddy started to say.

"Don't worry Mom…I'll go with him." Jessica interrupted, reading her mother's thoughts while giving the stranger standing beside her a brief, unimpressed look.

"Nice meeting you _John_." She said flatly, getting his name wrong on purpose before turning away from him, following after her brother.

Watching her go, Jack let out a soft laugh of amusement. Waiting until both kids rounded the corner once more before turned to face Cuddy again.

"I take it Jessica doesn't take well to strange men talking to her beautiful Mom?" He stated as his eyes traced over the curves of both her face and body once more, amazed by how incredibly good Lisa really did look after all of these years.

"She gets that from her Father." Cuddy replied smartly as an image of House suddenly popped up into her mind, causing her smile while the man in front of her continued to act as if nothing had ever happened between them. As if he hadn't humiliated her and broken her heart all those years ago. Standing before her now still as bold and ignorant as ever.

"So…. are you going to tell me the name of the guy who makes you smile like that?" Jack asked with curiosity as his eyes lowered to her left hand, taking notice to the impressively crafted wedding band as well as diamond solitare wrapped around her finger.

Cuddy held onto their gaze for a moment before she answered him. Knowing that when she spoke next to him it would set off a tremor inside of him that would serve to crack his confident exterior.

"Jack.......I'm married to Greg House." She told him with a cool tone, watching as his face suddenly changed into one that could not hide his shock.

"You married House? I have to say…. I didn't see that one coming." Jack replied in a disappointing whisper back to her, with his eyes even more focused upon her now.

"I think we can agree that there were a lot of things both of us never saw coming." Cuddy answered back to him as the old scar he had left upon her heart remember just how much he had hurt her back then.

"Mom! Ryan's acting like a brat!" Jessica called out suddenly from the end of the aisle, watching as both her Mother and 'Jack the idiot' turned to face her.

"Hey! I am not!" Ryan whispered with a grimace from beside her as Jessica held onto his arm, keeping him out of site from their Mother and the man still insisiting on talking to her.

"Shh Ryan! Just shut up for now ok? I'm trying to get Mom away from that creep so we can go home." Jessica whispered over to him quickly as she continued to look down the aisle with a pair of blue eyes that had honed in on her target.

"Give me a second Jess and I'll be right there." Cuddy told her daughter before turning to face the man from her past again.

"Listen Jack, it was really nice seeing you but I've got to get going." She lied, more than ready at this point to end their conversation.

"Have lunch me." Jack requested, taking a step closer to her.

"What?" Cuddy questioned, feeling _very _uncomfortable and looking quickly down the aisle at her daughter even though she knew Jessica could not have heard of Jack's rather odd request.

"Lisa…it's not what you think." Jack informed her quickly as he turned his head in the direction of Jessica and spoke to her.

"Just give me another minute sweetie and you can have your Mom back in a few seconds, I promise." He announced to the girl with another easy smile before returning his gaze to Lisa once more.

"Just here me out ok? You see Lisa, the reason why I'm in Princeton in the first place is because I've started up a private company with a couple of investors for a computer software I've helped designed that will minimize the time and effort a physician spends on his dictations while making sure the physician documentation meets all the insurance and AMA guidelines. I've been giving presentations in hospitals all over the United States for the past few years now and I'm going to be speaking to a group of physicians at Princeton General on Monday and well …I thought since I'm staying on for a few extra days after in Princeton to visit a few friends anyway….."

"Did he just call you sweetie?" Ryan whispered up to his sister with a grimace as he stayed out of view at the end of the aisle.

"Yes." Jessica whispered back to him with glare now upon her face as she watched the man continue to talk to their Mother.

"Want me to go up and kick him in the nuts?" Ryan whispered to her with a determined glare now upon his face as well.

"No….at least not yet anyway." Jessica replied with a whisper of her own, content to wait things for now and see just what the Bozo with her Mother was up to as he took another step closer to her.

"It all make sense now." Cuddy replied back to Jack as she shook her head before continuing.

"You always were a man who never let even the slightest opportunity pass by you. And so after spotting me in here you thought you'd try your best to charm me into letting you come inside my hospital with your sales pitch." She finished, feeling relived that he had finally shown his true intentions to her.

"So what do you say?" Jack asked her with a small smile that oozed of confidence.

"I'd say that you have a lot of nerve proposing a business deal, or for that matter anything else to me considering the last time I saw you I was telling you what a rotten son of a bitch you were." Cuddy stated frankly

"And by the way.... how's what's her name doing?" She asked him directly, without holding anything back.

Seeing her face now, Jack bit back his smile. Lisa Cuddy was still as wild and engaging as ever. Making her someone he was still very drawn to even after all of these years.

"Actually, what's her name is now getting monthly alimony checks from me and you'll be happy to know she also thinks I'm a rotten son of bitch too." He told her honestly with a smirk before continuing.

"So what do say Lisa? All I'm asking is for you meet me for lunch so I can go over my presentation with you. I'm talking strictly business here, with a chance for you to make things easier on the physicians at your hospital." He offered.

Looking up at him, Cuddy thought about the last time they had spoken all those years ago and how she had stubbornly held back her tears. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry over him after what he had done to her as he killed the dreams inside of her.

"Fine Jack…I'll have lunch with you. Twelve thirty, at hospital cafeteria on Tuesday and don't be late." She agreed before abrubtly turning her cart around and heading down the aisle towards the spot where Jessica was standing.

* * *

Later that evening and after returning home from the grocery store, Cuddy was seated at the dining room table with her family, having postponed dinner for a half hour after House had called her and told her he had solved his latest case and was on his way home.

"Mom?" Ryan asked.

"Yes?" Cuddy answered.

"What was the name of that guy who was talking to you at the grocery store today?" Ryan asked as her from out the blue as he reached for the glass of milk to his right.

Cuddy paused for a moment, her eyes darting over to her husband in an instant.

She had wanted to wait until Ryan and Jessica were both up in bed before talking to House about running into her old boyfriend at the store. Knowing his reaction was going to be far from a good one. But after Ryan had innocently let the cat out of the bag so to speak, she knew it would be foolish to think her husband would let the matter rest now.

"That man at the store was named Jack." Cuddy answered to her son after the brief moment of silence, already feeling House's eyes upon her as he placed a piece of the grilled steak into his mouth.

"Oh yeah Mom! I remember now! I really didn't like the way that guy kept standing so close to you… he seemed kinda weird." Ryan commented back to her before taking a sip of his milk.

"That's because Jack was hitting on Mom, Ryan." Jessica remarked, having no clue of the past her Mother had shared with the man, only knowing she wanted her Dad to find out about the run they had with him at the grocery story in case the creep tried to talk to her Mom again.

"You saw Jack Hall today?" House asked Cuddy from across the table in a cool tone even though his mind had already beginning to run at full speed as to why she wouldn't have mentioned the encounter with her ex-fiance over the phone to him when he had called her earlier.

"It was no big deal. We just ran into each other for a few minutes." Cuddy replied dismissively, hoping like hell her husband would for once go against his inquisitive nature and back off for now. Allowing her to explain things further to him once they were alone.

"I never said it was a big deal." House responded back her with a shrug, hold their gaze for a moment before turning his attention to Jessica and smiling over at her from across the table.

"So..... this loser guy named Jack was hitting on your Mom huh?" He asked his daughter with interest while at the head of the table Cuddy rested her chin the palm of her hand and let out a big sigh. Knowing that once her husband was done getting all the information he could out of both Jessica and Ryan his mind would be set on overdrive for the rest of the evening regarding her chance encounter with Jack Hall and exactly what it had meant to her.

* * *

Walking into the master bedroom just shortly after eleven pm, House looked over at his wife as she stood beside her dresser with her back facing him, having just changed into a dark emerald green satin nightgown, the hem of which fell just above her knees.

"Oh by the way, I meant to tell you that today at the hospital when I was saving a patient's life I ran into your old fiancé Jack Hall and I must say the man has aged _quite well _throughout the years. Oh wait…… that was you." He remarked dryly to Cuddy in true smartass fashion. Watching as she turned around to face him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jack earlier. I just didn't want to bring it up in front of the kids." Cuddy told him as walked up to where he was standing on his side of the bed.

"So, how was good old Jackie boy?" House asked with interest as he stared down at her.

"Jack still is as polished and full of himself as ever." Cuddy told him with a slight laugh.

House studied her face as his eyes roamed over ever delight feature contained within it.

"I bet Jack didn't know what do when he saw you. In fact ....I bet he was thinking about the last time he had sex with you the entire time the two of you were talking." He said to her in a low tone.

Cuddy raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're telling me all guys think about when they run into their ex's is the last time they had sex with them?" She asked with doubt.

House nodded, "Yep. Just like all women think about when they run into their ex's is what an ass the guy was to them." He responded.

Cuddy shook her head with a small smile on her face. "Well, I can't really argue with you on the one." She agreed.

"So what exactly did you and the ass talk about after you ran into each other at the grocery store?" He questioned, taking a stepp closer to her and placing his hand onto her hip.

Cuddy felt his fingers gently squeeze her side.

He was nervous about her run in with Jack, even though he would never come right out and say it.

"Nothing really. I introduced Jack to the kids and told him I was married to you." She informed him with a devious smile.

House grinned, his male ego getting a nice little boost by the way she was smiling at him as she told him that he had been included in her conversation with Jack.

"I bet hearing you were married to me must have really been tough for good old Jack to hear. Especially when I think about the time he came to my apartment when we were all in Michigan and he promised to beat the shit out of me if I didn't stop flirting with you." He informed her with a sly grin.

"You never told me about that!" Cuddy responded with surprise.

House pulled her closer to him.

"I never stopped flirting with you, so I didn't see the point." He remarked while keeping the grin on his face.

Cuddy titled her head. "So… did Jack actually beat the crap out of you without my knowledge way back then?" She asked with curiosity.

House scoffed at her question.

"_No_….but only because I told him the day he stopped by that it didn't matter how much _I_flirted with you because you weretotally head over heels in love with _him_." He confessed to her.

Cuddy placed her hand upon his chest as her eyes continued to gaze up at him. "I swear sometimes it almost feels like I was another person back then. I was so sure Jack was exactly the type of man I needed…..if I only knew…" She started to say with a bit of regret to her tone for being so blinded by a man who was as selfish as he was good looking.

"You were young and in love with someone you thought had the same ideals as you did. There's no way you could have know that years later that scumbag was going to cheat on you….and by the way… I for one and happy he did because in the end the_ most handsome, clever and well hung man _did end up getting his little Partypants in the end." House told her with a wicked smile.

Cuddy let out a short, sarcastic laugh. "You know..... I think it was your modesty that finally won me over in the end." She teased as her fingers splayed open above the beating of his heart.

"I just call em like I see um Partypants." House teased back as his hand slid down to her ass with his fingers giving it a small squeeze before the smile suddenly left his face.

"What else haven't you told me?" He asked after noticing that certain look in her eyes that told him she was hiding something.

"Promise to hear me out first." Cuddy replied just as quickly, taking a step back from him.

"You know I don't make promises. Especially when it comes to guys you almost ended up marrying." House answered back to her as his voice changed to one of more serious nature.

Cuddy took in a breath, keeping her eyes locked onto her husband's.

"Jack started his own private company that sells physician driven computer software to hospitals and…"

"_No way in hell that jerk is showing up and pedaling his crap at the hospital_." House interrupted, cutting her off.

Cuddy blinked in disbelief, folding her arms underneath her breasts.

"Excuse me, but the last time I checked I was the Dean of Medicine at the hospital." She shot back as he glared down at her.

House clenched his jaw.

"You know as well as I do the only reason Jack would want to come back into the hospital is because in some sick and twisted way he wants another shot at you." He muttered with a heated breath as inside of his brain the demon from their past that had never really left him came rising up from the dark place where he had kept it imprisoned for years.

He may have said Jack's name right now, but in his mind it was the image of Jeff Hansom's face that came back to him as clear and haunting as it had been all those years ago when the deranged man had nearly taken her away from him.

House's sudden change in demeanor did not go unnoticed by Cuddy, her hand reaching out for his arm as she stepped closer to him once more.

"Greg, would you listen to yourself? Do you honestly think for one moment the a guy I was engaged to years ago......who ended up cheating on me and marrying the person he was cheating on me with would still be hung up on me enough to take a plane ride back to Princeton years later just to track me down in the hopes of starting something with me again?" Cuddy argued back to him while keeping her tone soft because of the way he was looking at her now.

He didn't have to say for her to know it was not only the two of them inside the room right now. The ghost of the man who had tortured them both. dangerously as close and near to his heart as her palm pressed against it.

House took in a breath. His mind pushing the memory of Jeff Hansom back into the dark and hidden place where it belonged.

She was right, he _was _overreacting.

"So when is this Bozo supposed to show up at the hospital to meet with you?" He asked in a much calmer manner.

"Jack's supposied to be meeting me for lunch on Tuesday at twelve thirty, inside the hospital cafeteria." She informed him, hoping he was really ok with all of this.

"You do realize I will be showing up at the cafeteria at some point to mark my territory." House replied back to her directly. As there was no way in _hell_ he was gonna let this guy have more than a few minutes alone with his wife before he made it perfectly clear the jerk had indeed better only have business and nothing more on his mind.

"I'm fine with that, as long as you promise not to pee on me while marking your territory." Cuddy remarked with a soft smile as they eased back into the comfort that all married couples with trust built between them had.

House let out a slight chuckle at Cuddy's choice of words. "Ok, I'll refrain from a golden shower. However when I do interrupt the two of you at lunch, be prepared for extreme jerkiness." He warned her while giving her a sly smile and pulling her closer to him.

"Actually, I think I'm ok with that." Cuddy agreed with a smile of her own just before she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone and thanks for the continued great reviews. Well..this week is going to be very crazy for me so I don't know if I'll get to post a chapter after this one..but I'm gonna try my hardest. Hope you enjoy the latest installment ;)**

**Chapter 9**

**_Tuesday -12:30pm PPTH Cafeteria…_**

"As you can see from the brochure Lisa, MD Logistics is at the cutting edge when it comes to making physician documentation as painless as possible for our clients." Jack said, leaning forward in his chair from across the table inside the cafeteria as Cuddy scanned through the pamphlet he had given to her a few minutes ago.

"It does look like a very good product." Cuddy replied back to him with her eyes still focused on the brochure.

Jack smiled, finding himself suddenly tracing the outline of Lisa's full lips as she flipped through the rest of the brochure. Feeling that part of him that still missed her sometimes suddenly rising up from inside of him.

"I'm really glad you like the concept of our product." He said a second later, pulling his thoughts away from their past as he turned and reached for the laptop he had placed on the empty chair to his left.

"And now that you've seen the brochure. How about taking the software out for a test drive?" He offered while opening up the laptop.

"I'll have you know the last man who asked my wife to check out his software was christened into unconsciousness by the end of my cane." House announced, interrupting the meeting as he stood above Jack with Wilson by his side.

Cuddy looked up at House while hiding her amusement at his choice of words before her eyes darted over to Wilson with a questioning expression to him as to why in the hell he was here.

"What? Whenever you and House don't have lunch together, House and I have lunch together." Wilson said to her after seeing the way she had looked at him, even though he was as guilty as sin for not wanting to miss any fireworks between House and Jack that may occur.

As Cuddy was talking to Wilson, Jack stood up from the table, turning to face House who was standing beside him.

"House …it's nice to see you again. And just for the record I have to say that thanks to your marriage to Lisa, you've ended up in _a far better place _than I ever dreamed you would have." Jack said with a somewhat smug smile as he offered the fellow physician his hand.

House left Jack's hand hanging in the air as he took as step closer to the man.

"Funny thing is Jack, _you _ended up _in exactly _the place I though you would be after cheating on Lisa with some dimwit nurse who's now living the high life on your dime and doing the college kid who used to clean your pool, in your bed, in the house that now belongs to her. In fact it must be very humbling for you to have to grovel at the feet of the same woman who could have been your wife instead of mine…but then these things always seem to happen for a reason." House shot back without missing a beat, leaving Cuddy as well as Wilson slack jawed for a moment.

"Greg…" Cuddy said in a tentative manner as she looked up at him from the table.

"Yes Snookums?" House answered just to see the fire light up in her eyes.

Cuddy pursed her lips. _Oh, he was going to pay for that later._

"I believe you we're on your way to lunch with Wilson." She prompted.

"_Oooooh_, so you mean we can't sit here with you two ex-loverbirds?" House asked with mock surprise.

Cuddy bit back her smile.

He was having way too much fun with this but since it was at Jack's expense she really didn't mind.

"I'm actually in the middle of a business meeting with Jack and since I know how precious his time is I'd like to finish up as soon as possible." She replied to her husband watching as his eyes stayed locked onto hers and a smile curled up around his lips.

"I totally understand Cuddlemuffin, just give Daddy a little kiss and I'll be on my way." House responded back to her in a sweet voice while knowing right now, he was standing on the edge of a very narrow cliff. Watching as a few pebbles rolled down into the ravine below him.

Cuddy exhaled through her nose as her jaw set.

"I suggest you _leave now _unless you like the idea of doing double clinic duty for the next two months." She warned in a hiss to him as Wilson raised his brows in recognition that his friend was very close to stepping into some deep shit.

Watching the scene before him, Jack was completely mesmerized by the woman seated across the table from him. The same woman he had called his own so long ago as the way she looked at that very moment tugged at the part of him that still felt the pain from what he had so foolishly thrown away.

From beside Jack, House held his gaze with Cuddy as everyone else faded into the background. His crystal blue eyes letting her know without saying a word that he would like nothing better right now than to lift her up onto the table she was seated at and screw her brains out in front of everyone for being too goddamn sexy for her own good while Cuddy in turn gave him that sexy half smile of hers. Letting him know he was going to be a very happy boy later on tonight as the banter between them at the moment ago was turning her on as well.

"House…maybe we should get going." Wilson said from beside his friend, breaking the spell between husband and wife.

House gave Cuddy a lingering look before he spoke. "Well kids, it's been real. Not as real as the fact that the Dean of Medicine is my boo…but still it's been real." He commented casually as he turned to face Jack and leaned closer to whisper in the man's ear.

"By they way…I bet you're kicking yourself now for screwing things up with her. " He stated simply before he turned and walked away from the table as Wilson followed closely behind him.

Jack waited until both men were a few feet away from him before he sat back down in his chair, seeing the small smile now residing on Lisa's face as her eyes had stayed glued onto her husband.

"I see Greg hasn't changed a bit. I guess I was right after all when I though two of you would eventually end up together someday." He said to her with a hint of melancholy attached to his tone as he gazed into her eyes.

Cuddy's smiled immediately faded. Giving way to a more business like expression as her ex-lover's conveyed hurt over the new life she had found with a man who valued her more than he ever could was something she neither had the time nor patience to dwell upon.

"Jack, I believe you have about ten minutes left to show me why I need to invest anymore of my time in your product." She informed him frankly.

Jack nodded, "Of course. Just let me get the demo up on the computer." He told her as he reached for his laptop again.

* * *

It was an hour after House had eaten lunch with Wilson when his cell phone began to ring as he sat behind his desk inside of his office.

Pulling out his cell phone from his suit jacket pocket, House leaned back in the chair.

Looking down at the display, his brow furrowed.

It was Ryan's school, or rather Ryan's principal, Mr. Jenkins who was calling him and considering he had only met the man once and thought he was a snotty nosed little prick the first time, he was sure their conversation was going to be a good one.

"Doctor House." He answered.

"Dad, it's me." Ryan whispered into the phone.

House could not help but smirk.

"Why are you calling me from the Principal's phone?" He asked his son.

"I snuck in here because my new music teacher Mrs. Reynolds is stupid!" Ryan replied back to his Dad in a harsh whisper.

"So where's Principal Jenkins right now?" House questioned to his son as he got up out of the chair and started walking towards his office door, already with the intent on going to Ryan's school.

"He's with Mrs. Reynolds trying to fine me." Ryan told his Dad with a soft giggle as he stayed crouched underneath the principle's desk with his knees pressed into his chest and the receiver held in his hand.

Walking down to the elevators House's smile grew. Sure some Dad's would be pissed at such a stunt by their kid, but for House it was amusing as hell that his nine year old son was a fugitive on the run.

"Listen Ryan can you see what time it is right now?" House asked his son.

Ryan looked over at the wall beside him where a large round clock was hanging.

"Yeah Dad, it's one thirty five." The boy responded.

House checked his own watch. "Good. Now listen to me. I want you to wait ten minutes, then sneak out of Jenkins office and take a seat in one of the chairs just outside of his office and just sit there like you've been patiently waiting there the whole time." He instructed.

"Will do Daddy-o." The boy replied with a smile.

* * *

Within the next few minutes House was at Ryan's grade school, walking into the Administrative office just as Principal Jenkins, who was a short, pudgy man with a very deeply receding hairline and the Ryan's music teacher, Mrs. Reynolds who was a stick of woman with her gray hair pulled back into a tight bun and looking as if she should have retired from teaching twenty years ago had apparently found his son sitting in one of the chairs outside of the Principal's office.

"Ryan, where have you been?" Jenkins asked the boy in a stern voice.

"Actually, I was wondering the same thing about you." House announced from behind the man.

Jenkins, along with Mrs. Reynolds spun around at the sound of his voice.

"Doctor House? Why are you here?" Jenkins asked with confusion as the tall physician walked up to where he was standing.

"My son called me a few minutes ago, asking me to come here. He told me he was upset over something that had occurred in Music class and I _assumed_ you had let him make the call to me. However, it looks l was wrong since you seem to have been looking for Ryan. Which is very odd considering he's supposed to be under the watchful eye of your staff when he's here inside the walls of your school." House replied coolly as he left a questioning expression upon his face.

"Ryan ran out of class- " Mrs. Reynolds started to say.

"And you didn't go after him?" House immediately asked in an accusatory tone.

"I did, but by the time I got to the end of the hall I had no idea where he had gone." Mrs. Reynolds tried explained, defending her actions.

"So you're telling me that for the past ten minutes you had no idea where my son was?" House accused, hoping like hell Ryan would be able to keep a straight face.

"I…did..I mean I.." Mrs. Reynolds stuttered.

"Doctor House, why don't the three of us talk this over in my office while Ryan waits outside." Jenkins offered, motioning towards the door.

House looked over at Ryan.

"You gonna be ok out here?" He asked.

"Yeah Dad." Ryan responded back to him, using every ounce of strength he had inside of him to keep from busting out into a huge amused filled smile.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, House walked out the Principal's office, giving Ryan a wink as Principal Jenkins and Mrs. Reynolds followed behind him.

"Doctor House, I'm glad we could work this out." Jenkins said, offering his hand to the physician to shake.

"So am I." House replied shaking the man's hand.

"Ryan, you can go back to class now." Mrs. Reynolds instructed to her student as he remained seated.

"Actually I'd like to walk Ryan back to class." House informed her.

"Fine." Mrs. Reynolds agreed while forcing a smile upon her face.

* * *

House had waited until he and Ryan had walked to the end of the hall before he stopped and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, looking down towards the Principal's office to make sure Jenkins and Reynolds had stayed inside before he spoke.

"So exactly what made you think playing Great Balls of Fire for your class today while singing the lyrics at the top of your lungs was a good idea?" He asked the boy with a small smirk upon his face.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "Mrs. Reynolds said anyone who played an instrument was allowed to play for the class today to show them the different kinds of music we're learning about....and ..well. I really like that song Dad and all the kids liked it too until Mrs. Reynolds yelled at me to stop." He informed his Father honestly.

"She actually yelled at you?" House questioned with surprise.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah…but she kinda had too because I was playing so loud." The boy confessed with a grin.

House chuckled. "Just do me a favor and try and keep the rock and roll playing to a minimum until you get to middle school." He told the boy.

"So you're not mad?" Ryan asked his Father as he looked up at him.

House shook his head. 'You, playing the piano could never make me mad. It just sucks that your teacher it too much of an old nag to appreciate what you've just exposed all of your classmates to......and by the way.... you better never refer to your teacher as an old nag or Mom's going to kill us both. Understand?"

Again Ryan nodded. "So do we have to tell Mom about today?" He asked with a slight grimace.

House sighed. "Yeah we do. Just let me do most of the talking and you'll be ok." He answered before looking down at his watch.

"Speaking of your Mom, I've gotta get back to the hospital considering I've just missed my clinic duty." He said as he looked over at his son.

"Ok…..and thanks, Dad." Ryan said with crooked smile upon his lips.

"Anytime Jerry Lee…now get back to class." House replied, pulling his son close to him for a quick hug before he turned and started walking towards the lobby once more.

* * *

"We have to talk." Cuddy said nearly an hour later, addressing her husband as she stepped inside the walls of his office.

"Can we just have sex instead?" House questioned to her with a grin as he sat behind his desk.

Cuddy rolled her eyes at him, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Jack's software product is really good. In fact, it's one of the best I've seen on the market…. _and_ since his company is fairly new and trying to get established, he's offering us a very enticing deal." She informed him while crossing her legs in front of her.

"So go ahead and buy the jerk's software." House commented back to her as his eyes traced the plunging neckline of the silk purple blouse she was wearing today.

"Before I do that I want you to know I think Jack still has feelings for me and that if we do buy the software he'll be here at the hospital for the next few weeks to supervise the installation." Cuddy replied back to him in a soft voice, watching as House's eyes darted up to her face in an instant.

"Did he make a pass at you or say something?" He asked in a tone that had an unmistakable edge to it as the territorial side of him tugged at the chain it was bound to.

"No…nothing like that…" Cuddy started to say, "it just that Jack just seemed really bothered by the fact that you and I ended up together." She finished.

House leaned back in his chair, reaching for the red and grey ball on his desk.

"So Jack's suffering from a bruised ego and the fact that we both poured salt into an old wound today."

"I didn't mean to pour-" Cuddy began to argue.

"Oh yes you did." House interrupted, leaning forward again as he placed the ball back down onto the desk. "You and both know the only reason you even agreed to meet with Jack today was because you wanted him to see that despite the shitty hand he threw at you all those years ago, you ended up coming out of that mess a hell of lot better than he did." He pointed out to her.

Cuddy drew in her bottom lip, "You're right." She muttered under her breath while looking down at her hands resting in her lap.

House studied her silently for a moment. "And right now you're feel guilty as hell for doing that to Jack, regardless of how much that jerk deserverd to be treated like the piece of shit that he is." He told her in a voice that had lowered its tone.

Cuddy lifted her head up and let out a sigh. "You know sometimes I hate that you know me so well." She confessed to him.

House gaver her a small smile. "I don't remember hearing any compliants in the bedroom and considering all you keep me around for is sex anyway...I'd said we both have a pretty sweet deal between the two of us. " He teased.

Cuddy shook her head and let out a soft laugh. "So, are you going to be ok with me purchasing the new software from Jack and having him around here for the next couple of weeks?" She asked him as she rested the palms of her hands onto her thighs.

"As long as you continue to use _my hardware _I'm fine with Jack the jerk being your whipping boy." House told her with a casual smirk, while internally he had already had his mind set on making sure to keep a close eye on Jack Hall, just in case the creep had any ideas about his wife that did not pertain to strictly business.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok guys, here's another chapter. I 've got another busy weekend ahead of me so I may not post again till Mon or Tues. Hope you enjoy it ;)**

**Chapter 10**

It was a few weeks later and on a Friday that Cuddy was seated at her desk inside of her office. Feverishly trying to finish up an approval on a last minute budget item so she could leave by three pm and pick up Jessica and Ryan for the demist appointments she had scheduled for them at 3:30pm.

Reviewing the proposal one last time, she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in." She said without lifting her eyes from the computer screen.

"Hard at work again?" Jack questioned as he entered the office and closed the door behind him.

"Jack, I don't have much time. What do you need?" Cuddy answered, giving him a quick glance as he walked up to her before focusing back on the screen.

Jack rounded the corner of the desk. Watching as Cuddy looked up at him once more.

"I don't need anything, Lisa. I just wanted to show you the new icon for our dictation system on your desktop. We got it installed ahead of schedule so it looks like I'll only need to be here next week at the latest until everything is ready to go." Jack told her in a good natured tone. Which of course had a bit of pride attached to it because of the fact that his IT team would be getting the job done ahead of schedule.

"Oh, of course…by all means." Cuddy replied, leaning back from the computer screen as she minimized the document she had been reviewing.

Jack smiled as he leaned down towards her, reaching in front of her for the mouse.

"Now as you can see right here, the new icon features a stethoscope. Which of course my idea." He bragged as he clicked on the small image, thereby opening up the program.

Within his next breath as he told Lisa about the options buttons on the display window that had appeared before them, his nose was filled with the scent of her perfume.

These past few weeks working here at the hospital and being in the presence of his ex lover from so many years ago had proven one thing to him loud and clear. He was still very attracted to Lisa Cuddy …even though her name included a hyphen and the name House attached to the end of it.

As he continued to speak to her while taking in the scent of her perfume, Jack glanced down towards the peach blouse Lisa was wearing today. Finding within his view the vision of her perfect breasts nestled beautifully inside the cream colored bra she was wearing.

As the mouse stilled on the screen, Cuddy raised her eyes up towards Jack's face, feeling her breath catch in her throat as she realized immediately what had distracted him from his demonstration.

"Jack, I think you better go now and have someone else on your team come by tomorrow to show me the progress you've made." She said to him in a controlled voice even though she had been completely unnerved by the situation.

Jack took a step back from her. "Lisa, I'm sorry…..I.." He started to apologized clumsily as she got up from the chair and took a step away from him, creating even more distance between them.

"Jack, please...just go." Cuddy told him while inside of her mind her thoughts were already spinning as to how she was going to tell House about the awkward moment just now between her and her ex lover.

"I've never gotten over you." Jack confessed to her as he took a step towards her.

"Jack ..stop." Cuddy protested, feeling her head begin to spin as it suddenly was filled with the ghost of Jeff Hansom.

"Lisa, please.... you need to be honest with yourself. You and I both know you didn't just hire me because of the computer software. Deep down you know even with your two kids and a marriage to House, the two of us make more sense together than you being with him ever would. I just screwed things up for us a long time ago…but that doesn't mean it's too late for us." He added as he gently moved his hand to her cheek, meaning every word he had spoken.

In an instant Cuddy shoved him back from her as a harsh breath escaped her mouth. Her eyes were now wide and filled with confusion, hurt and anger all at the same time.

"Get this straight Jack, I love my husband... and whatever you think my motives were for hiring you....you could be more wrong. Now I suggest you leave my office now before I end up firing you." Cuddy told him just before she clenched her teeth, completely enraged that he would have the nerve to think he could ever be half the man that Greg had been for her.

Jack felt his throat tighten, threatening to cut off the supply of air to his lungs. He had fucked up big time and now the only recourse to keep from getting his as fired was to do exactly what Lisa wanted him to.

Without saying another word he turned and left her office, thinking that there had to be someway to make this all right again. To make her calm down and patch things up again.

_I just need a little time, _Jack repeated inside of his mind over and over again. The words becoming mumbled and rushed like an old vodoo curse as he pushed the button to the elevator before him and stepped inside of it.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Cuddy was inside of her car, driving towards the middle school to pick up Jessica before heading onto the grade school to pick up Ryan.

_Breath…just breath, _Cuddy told herself when she had realized just how close she was to hyperventilating as thoughts of Jeff Hansom combined with the scene between her and Jack inside of her office a few minutes ago.

Jack would never try to rape her. Would never hurt her physically in anyway like Jeff had done. He was not a madman. He was just a man who refused to believe that he had lost her forever because of the hugeness of his ego.

"Mom?" Jessica yelled from outside the car door as she pulled on the handle impatiently.

Cuddy jumped, not remembering exactly how she had gotten to the middle school and parked outside of it.

"Sorry." She said to her daughter a second later with a small forced smile after she had disengaged the lock and Jessica climbed into the passenger seat.

"Mom….. are you ok?" Jessica asked as she tucked a lock of her long dark hair behind her ear.

"Yeah Jess, I'm fine. There's just a lot of stuff going on at the hospital right now." Cuddy told her with a another small smile, putting the maroon Acura sedan into drive once more before pulling out into the street and heading towards Ryan's grade school.

* * *

With both kids now inside of the car, Cuddy had let out a few deep silent breaths, trying to calm herself down as Ryan and Jessica talked to each other about going up to the cabin this weekend.

"Mom, before we leave can we stop by the mall so I can get my ear pierced?" Jessica asked suddenly form the passenger seat.

"You already have your ears pierced?" Cuddy stated, glancing over at her daughter with confusion as she slowed a bit for the line of traffic waiting at a four way stop sign.

"No Mom, I want my _ear_ pierced, up here in the cartilage just like you have on your left ear." Jessica informed her mother with an innocent tone as she pointed to the spot with her fingertip.

Cuddy's let out a laugh of disbelief. "Absolutely not." She informed her daughter while shaking her had as she pressed gently on the gas when the car in the line of traffic in front of her went through the stop sign.

"I told you Mom would say no Jess!" Ryan said from the back seat with a giggle as he continued to play with his gameboy.

"Shut up Ryan!" Jessica grumbled, glaring at him as he grinned back at her from the rearview mirror before she focused her gaze on her mother once more.

"Please Mom, Tennille's mom let her get her cartilage pierced last week." Jessica tried to reason.

"I don't care what Tennille's Mom let her do, _you _are not getting your cartilage pierced and that's final." Cuddy replied, not backing down an inch as she continued to move the car forward as she was next in line to go proceed through the four way stop.

"But it's not fair! You have your cartilage pierced!" Jessica started to argue with the stubbornness of her Father now running through her, determined to push the bounders just as much as he did.

"Jessica I'll have you know, I was eighteen -" Cuddy started to say just before her daughter let out a piercing scream as her eyes flew open wide with terror.

It only took a second for the big black truck that had ran the stop sign to slam into their car on the driver's side. The horrible sound of metal colliding with metal screaming out even louder than Jessica had before she was knocked unconscious and the car was pushed up onto the curb of the road.

"Jesus Christ!" A middle age man inside the car behind Cuddy's said as he watched the gut wrenching crash before him with his hands glued onto his steering wheel as his heart pounding inside of his chest.

For a few seconds an eerie silent moved over the strech of road as everything around the two vehicles became frozen in time.

From the passenger seat of Acura, Jessica blinked her eyes open. A groan escaping her lips.

She was smothering, or at least she thought she was a she batted away the air bag covering her face and felt a sharp pain ride up her right shoulder as if it had been torn out of the socket.

Gazing out at the cracked windshield, Jessica trembled at the sound of her own sharp breathing before slowing turning her head to her left, while keeping her right shoulder as still as possible.

"Mom?" She croaked out in a voice filled with pain, turing to face her mother and finding her unconscious.

"Mom, wake up." She said again with a bit of urgency staring to fill her voice just a Ryan was jolted back to consciousness and started to cry in the back seat

"Mom.. are you okay! Please Mom...wake up!" Jessica shrieked as her eyes welled up with tears.

"Jessie! What's wrong with Mom?" Ryan cried out as he fumbled with his seatbelt, desperately trying to break free of it.

"Mom please! Wake up!" Jessica pleaded, gently touching her mother's shoulder and jumping when she felt Ryan's hand latching onto her arm like a vise.

"Is Mom ok? Is she dead!?" Ryan blurted out, terrified beyond belief as the tears ran down his cheeks and over the angry abrasion on his chin.

Jessica glanced back at her brother briefly before quickly moving her fingers over to her mother's neck. The knowledge to do so passed on by her Father at some point in her young life.

"She's still got a pulse." Jessica told her brother as she held tight noto that small bit of hope.

"What doe's that mean?" Ryan stuttered as took in a shakey breath, staring up at his Mom as he choked back a few more tears.

"It means Mom's heart is still beating. Which means she still alive." Jessica replied, trying to calm her voice in order to stop her brother from sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh god Ryan….you're bleeding too." She then said in a hushed voice once she had turned around fully to face him. Finally seeing the cut just below the hairline on his forehead were a small stream of blood was down making its way down the bridge of his nose.

"I'm…I'm bleeding?" Ryan asked with shock…. touching his forehead and feeling of something warm coating his fingers just as the wailing sound of siren, announcing the impending arrival of an ambulance cut through the air surrounding them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok guys I made it! Busy weekend but here's the next chapter of the story;) Hope you all enjoy it!**

**Chapter 11**

"Oh my god! That's Lisa's car!" Ruth cried out in horror from inside the red pickup truck Bill was driving, a few seconds after they had pulled off to the side of the road to let the ambulance racing down the street behind them get by as it headed towards the accident scene at the four way stop.

In the time it had taken for the words to escape her mouth, Ruth was out of the truck and running towards the mangled Acura, hearing Bill's footsteps echoing quickly behind her just as one of the ambulance drivers started to free Jessica from the car.

"No! I'm not leaving her!" Jessica screamed as the tears ran down her face, fighting with the paramedic as she tried in vain to pull herself away from the man who easily out weighted her by at least a hundred pounds.

"Were going to help your Mom, Jessica…but we can't reach her with you inside the car." The paramedic tried to explain to her in a calm voice as he struggled to keep hold of the small but powerful girl in his arms.

Once he had pulled Jessica far enough away from the car his partner swiftly moved past them and into the passenger seat to start working on the girl's mother.

"Let me go! I can't leave her!" Jessica yelled back at him with a gut wrenching ache to her tone.

"Jessica! I'm here baby!" Ruth yelled out to her granddaughter just a before she reached her, choking back her own tears as the terrified girl practically leap into her arms, burying her face into her shoulder.

"The truck didn't stop! He just ran right into us!" Jessica sobbed with her entire body trembling as her grandmother wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.

"Shhh Jessie…it's going to be ok. We're here now…..Papa's and I are here and his going to help the paramedics with your Mom." Ruth whispered soothingly to her granddaughter as she kissed her cheek while lookin in at her unconscious daughter inside of the car.

"Nana!" Ryan cried out next, slipping past the same paramedic who had been holding onto Jessica a moment ago jsut as the man had opened up the back door on the passenger side to check on his condition.

Turning with Jessica still clinging to her, Ruth held back her tears once more as the battered little boy stumbled forward towards her with small river of blood trickling down his nose along with a nasty scrape on his chin.

"Come here Ryan." Ruth coaxed, extending one arm out to him with her heart nearly breaking as he too began to sob uncontrollably. His body shaking against her like a leaf caught in a hurricane.

Keeping an arm around each grandchild, Ruth watched as Bill crawled into the back seat of Lisa's car and begin to assist the paramedic who was already inside.

"Is Mommy going to die?" Ryan asked with a mournful voice, raising his tear stained face up to look at his grandmother.

"Shh……Ryan its going to be ok." Ruth assured him while she prayed to god not to turn the words she had just spoken into lies.

"Excuse me….Ma'am, are you related to the family that was in the accident?" The paramedic still stationed outside of the car asked after noticing how the older woman with dark resembled the woman inside of the car.

"Yes, these are my grandchild and that's my daughter inside the car." Ruth answered whiled nodding towards the vechile.

The paramedic nodded back at her."Ok…well there's another ambulance on its way to help us out….but for now I need you to get the kids away from the accident site and over to our ambulance." He told her.

"Ok." Ruth replied, holding onto her grandchildren as she slowly started to guide them towards the open doors of the ambulance a few feet away from them.

"Almost there." Ruth whispered to her grandchildren a few seconds later, taking one last look back at her daughter, still unconscious and trapped inside the mangled car. Needing those words of encourage just as much for herself as they were needed for the traumatized children she was anchoring against herself at that moment.

* * *

"So Mister….uh…..Ballbreaker?" House asked while standing before a patient inside one of the clinics rooms on the first floor.

"It's Ballbreeker." The overweight, middle aged man, replied in flat tone. Having corrected the pronunciation of his last name more times than he cared to remember during his lifetime.

"Ooops pardon me." House said with smirk, glancing up from the patients chart.

From their right, the sound of the exam room door suddenly being flung open with such a force that the knob resounded with a solid thud at the contact it had made with the wall behind it caused both House and patient seated at the exam table to jump in surprise.

"Wilson, what the hell's going on? Too much speed this morning?" House asked in an aggravated tone as he tossed the patients chart onto the counter beside him.

"You need to come with me now." Wilson interrupted, grabbing onto House's arm and pulling him out of the room.

House stopped their process momentarily out in the hall. The look on his friend's face one of utter shock and panic. "What's going on?" He asked with his throat suddenly becoming dry as his eyes stayed locked onto the face of his best friend, who at the moment looked as if the world may indeed end during the next collective breath the took together.

"Lisa and the kids were in a car accident." Wilson explained in a voice that dreaded the words he had just spoken.

The statement had barely even gotten out of Wilson's mouth before House took off down the hallway. His cane thumping in the maddening rhythm of a man trying to stop his world from crumbling around him as he headed towards the ER..

* * *

"Where are they?" House ordered more then questioned to the head nurse in the Emergency Department as he burst through the double doors.

"Dad!" Jessica yelled out, running towards him with her right shoulder in a sling and the stain of dried tears upon her cheeks.

House felt his breath catch in his throat as she grabbed hold of him, her left arm wrapping around his waist as she pressed her face into his chest.

"A truck ran the stop sign when we were on our way to the dentist." Jessica blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to will away the graphic images of the accident still searing through her mind.

From behind them both, Wilson entered into the Emergency room, remaining silent for the moment as he watch House and Jessica together.

"It's going to be ok Jess." House said to her gently as his left hand cupped the back of her head and his thumb stroking her cheek when she looked up at him.

"What's wrong with your arm?" He asked his daughter next, finding it hard to breath at the moment and needing something medical to keep him grounded.

"It's just sprain." Jessica told him.

As Wilson walked up to them, House looked over at his friend. "Where's Ryan?" He asked while feeling the knot begin to twist in the pit of his stomach.

Before Wilson could answer, Ruth appeared from behind the third curtained off area inside the ER.

"Ryan's in here." Ruth informed House, keeping her voice calm, while inside, her mind was reeling from the events that had taken place a few short minutes ago.

House took Jessica's hand in his own and limped towards Ruth, the look on her face telling him all that she couldn't say at the moment.

He would not find Lisa here with them. Her injuries far more serious that warranted her being whisked away from children who under normal circumstances she would refuse to part with after such a traumatic event.

Looking in at his son as ER doctor had finished up applying some adhesive glue to the small cut on Ryan's forehead, House felt a lump gather in his throat. His little boy appearing before him battered and bruised with a lost expression upon his face.

Seeing movement from the corner of his eye, Ryan immediately snapped his head in the direction of the opened curtains.

"Dad." The boy choked out on the verge of tears once more.

Within the next second, House was at Ryan's side, helping the boy off the table and crouching down next to his son as he place his arms around him.

"I'm here Ryan." House whispered into his son's cheek as he held him close.

Ryan wrapped his arms around the neck of his Father and held on tightly to the only person he believed could make everything right for them again.

"You have to find Mom and make her better." The boy whispered before a chill ran through his body.

"I wil." House answered with a whisper before pulling back slightly from his son and looking up at Wilson.

* * *

Bright lights and the cold smell of the operating room filled House's nostrils as he limped inside of it. Dressed in green scrubs with Wilson by his side. His eyes telling him without a shadow of a doubt that the woman lying on the operating table was indeed his wife.

Seeing the men entering into the room, Bill took a few steps towards them.

"There were no skull fractures, but Lisa does have severe swelling inside of her brain from the impact of the car accident." Bill told both of them, speaking through his surgical mask as he too was dressed in green scrubs, never leaving Lisa's side from the moment he had drove up upon the accident scene.

House gave his father-in-law a nod of understanding before stepping past him, watching as Chase turned his head upon hearing his approach.

"Her vitals are very good." Chase assured his boss as House reached down and took hold of his wife's hand.

Lisa's eyes shut as the anesthesiologist at the head of the table continued to monitor her breathing. A small patch of her dark hair four inches above her right ear had been shaved, with an "X" placed onto the skin by the black ink of a surgical marker.

"House, we can't wait much longer. I have to start drilling for the drainage hole now." Foreman told him in a calm but still urgent tone.

House nodded silently. Finding no words in the English language that could even begin to express what he was feeling at the moment, letting go of his wife's hand as his heart cried out to him from the loss of contact.

_Stay with me_, He whispered inside of his mind, over and over again in the matter of seconds that ticked by as his eyes stayed fixated on the rise and fall of Lisa's chest. His heart, beating right along with hers even though at the moment it had been shattered into a million pieces.


	12. Chapter 12

**Well, has been a real pain in the arse lately but I finally managed to get the next chatper up! Hope you guys enjoy it and I really enjoyed reading your reviews of the last chapter :) **

**Chapter 12**

It was several hours later when Cuddy was finally wheeled into the ICU,hooked up to several machines that were helping her body function while her brain recovered from the injuries it had sustained as a result of the car accident.

There had been a tube placed down her throat that was hooked up to a ventilator to aid with her breathing and an IV inserted in her right arm along with a pulse-ox device attached to her index finger.

The left side of her face had several deep purple bruises and was slightly swollen. On the left side of her skull and just below the crown of her head a drainage tube had been place to ease the pressure of her swelling brain.

Beside her and inside the private room, House sat in a chair he had pulled up next to her bed. His hand holding onto Cuddy's as his eyes traced over every inch of her face.

"I'm not letting you go. You hear me? So you just keep on fighting and when you wake you can tell me how annoying it was hearing my voice constantly nagging you." He whispered to her while thinking of how fate had turned their world completely upside down with the kind of ease that makes people tremble in their beds at night as the worst of their nightmares come to haunt them.

Walking into the room, Wilson watched as House turned his head to look over at him. "House, I just was down in the waiting room and Jessica and Ryan want to see Lisa." He informed his friend in a somber manner.

House looked down at Cuddy again, his throat tightening as a million thoughts about the mother of his children started to run through his head.

"I don't think…." He began to say as the rest of his words got trapped behind the wall of strength he was building up quickly inside of him.

Wilson placed his hand on House's shoulder.

"I've already told the kids what to expect when the see Lisa for the first time. They know about the ventilator and the drainage tube. You know they need this.....if only so see that she's still here with us." Wilson whispered down to him as House kept his eyes focused on Cuddy.

House rubbed his thumb over Cuddy's slender hand as he continued to hold it.

If their roles had been reversed right now, he had no doubt she would let the kids in to seem him. "Ok." He agreed with a nod.

* * *

The moment Jessica had stepped inside the hospital room with her Father and brother she had started to cry, leaning into House's tall frame as her left hand curled up into a fist that she pressed into her lips, using it to muffle her sobs.

"Shhh…you know how upset your Mom gets when you get all emotional teenager on her." House joked softly to his daughter as he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him while being mindful of her sling as Ryan began to slowly walk up to the bed.

"Hey Mama." His son said softly, taking hold of Cuddy's hand with a crooked smile upon his face as his grey eyes glistened with tears. "You know....you really need you to hurry up and get better so I can play you that new song I learned." He continued with a whisper as his grey eyes took in the sight of her swollen face and the tube sticking of her skull.

From beside him one of the monitors let out aloud beep.

"Is Mom ok?" Jessica asked immediately, looking up at her father with a panicked expression.

House nodded, reaching for Jessica's left hand so they could both walk up closer to Lisa's hospital bed. "That beep just now from the monitor is telling me your Mom must really like hearing the sound of Ryan's voice." He then told her softly before looking over at Ryan and giving him a small smile.

After hearing what Father had said to her, Jessica moved up closer to Ryan, taking in a deep breath before she gently reached out and touched a lock of her mother's hair.

"I love you, Mom." She then said softly as her eyes moved across the deep purple bruises and drainage tube just like Ryan's had done only seconds before.

"She's going to be ok Jess." Ryan whispered from beside her as he moved his arm around her waist while keeping a small bit of space between them so he would not be pressing up again the sling she was wearing.

Jessica smiled down her brother, knowing in that moment that no matter how many years would pass between them, he would always be her constant.

"Can you believe it Mom? Ryan and I are actually getting along for once." She then joked softly to her Mother as she wished with all of her might she could turn back the hands of time. Thinking of how if her Mom had only picked her up a minute later they would all be home safe and sound.

Once again the monitors let out a sharp beep.

"She really can hear us….can't she Dad?" Ryan questioned as he looked over his shoulder at his Father.

House gave his son a small smirk. "You should know by now Ryan that you're Mom hears_ everything_." He informed the boy, feeling his heart receive a soothing caress as both of his children laughed at his comment.

"I guess Dad's right Mom….considering you always seem to know when all of us are up to something." Jessica commented down to her Mother now gently running her thumb over the bottom of Cuddy's chin.

As his children continued to talk to their Mother, with the sound of the monitor going off from time to time, House made sure to keep their hopes high as he now took on the role his wife usually played. The one that dared to see past all the obstacles before her and set her sights as high and vast as the open sky above her…..never settling for second best….never letting fate get the best of her no matter how devastating it could sometimes be.

* * *

As the night had worn on, turning quickly past the midnight hour and into the earlier dark morning of the next day, Ruth and Bill had finally taken Jessica and Ryan back to the home they shared with their Mother as their combined exhaustion left both kids with heavy eyes and in desperate need of rest.

House, however had remained at the hospital, never leaving Cuddy's side, and currently sitting in the chair next to her bed once more as she remained unconscious. His eyes having moved over every inch of her face as his thoughts continued to move just as steady throughout his brain.

Looking down at his watch he saw that it was nearly four am.

Currently, Lisa was holding her own, her vitals were stable and a bit of the swelling inside of her brain had already started to go down a bit.....and yet….

And yet she was still oceans apart from him and drifting inside a black tide.

"Come back to me." House whispered out hoarsely as hand gently caressed her arm.

"Come back to me so we can laugh about having sex up in our bed this morning and how mortified you were when our headboard struck the wall between ours and Jessica's room, even though I told you our girl could sleep through an earthquake." House continued to whisper, remembering the way Lisa had looked down at him as they made love this morning and how her dark hair has spilled over her shoulders like fine silk.

Remembering the way she arched her back and let him sink deeper inside of her until they was no telling where one of them ended an the other began. Remembering her collapsing on top of him afterwards as the sound of the headboard striking the wall when she shifted on top of him caused a panicked gasp to escape from her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist and laughed into the sweet softness of her neck.

_Come back to me Lisa….I'm lost without you...., _House said once more, only this time from inside of his mind as his thumb caressed her lips and the gold of his wedding band caught the glare of the fluorescent light above them. His thoughts continuing to roll over every moment between them that had made him love her more and more with each passing day.

"How's she doing?" The voice of Jack Hall questioned from behind him as the man stepped inside of the hospital room.

House quickly turned his head, watching as Jack walked up to the bed. His eyes narrowing at the man.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" He asked in a harsh whisper.

Jack took a step closer to the bed. His eyes, gazing down at Cuddy as he spoke.

"Believe it or not House, I still care about Lisa very much. She was a big part of my life for a long time and after hearing about the accident I had to come and see her. I was hoping that by coming now I wouldn't run into anyone." Jack answered, placing his hand on the foot of the bed with his eyes never leaving Cuddy's face.

House got up from his chair, looking down at the hand Jack had placed onto the bed, wanting it to bursts into flames, angered beyond belief by the gesture however harmless it may seem to an onlooker.

"Let's get one thing straight. I don't give a rat ass about _you_ or about the feelings you may still have for_ my wife_." House growled in a low tone as he clenched his teeth.

Jack held onto the intense gaze they were sharing, not backing down an inch.

"I understand that you're upset House..... and the last thing I want to do is cause a scene while Lisa obviously needs time to heal so now that I've seen her.... I'll leave you alone with your wife." Jack replied coolly, keeping his cards close to his chest before he turned and left the room.

Walking down the hall Jack could not help but to smile a bit. In Lisa's accident, horrible as it was, he had been given a second chance. A chance to set things right with her once more. Kowing, after hacking into her electronic medical record a few minutes ago that Lisa's chances were very good as far as making a full recovery from her injuries while also knowing as a physician that the odds of Lisa remembering anything from the previous day were slim to none as with nearly all head injury victims. His advances on her wiped cleaned, his slate ready to be filled with whatever would redeem him in her eyes.

* * *

It was close to 6am before House finally arrived home at the coaxing of Ruth, planning to get a few hours of rest before heading back to the hospital again.

Lisa's condition had continued to steadily improve even though she remained unconscious. Which, was not uncommon given the trauma to her brain, and despite the fact that he did not want to leave her…… the tug on his heartstrings regarding Jessica and Ryan, who would needing to see his face when morning came to pass to give them the reassurance that only a parent can provide had finally been the deciding factor that now left him walking through the kitchen of his home and into the living room.

"Greg, you looked exhausted. Did you eat anything yet? Do you want me to fix you something?" Ruth offered immediately as soon as she spotted her son-in-law in the archway. Getting to her feet from where she had been seated upon the couch, obviously not getting much rest herself as was apparent by the weariness in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Ruth. I'm just going to head upstairs and check on the kids before laying down for a few hours." House answered as with Bill stood up from the couch as well.

"Foreman called a few minutes ago to let us know that the latest CT's of Lisa's brain show the swelling is still going down." Bill informed his son-in-law in a low comforting whisper.

"Good." House said with a nod, turning to leave the room.

"Greg." Ruth whispered, stopping him for a moment as she placed her hand onto his arm. "I wanted to let you know …Jessica and Ryan insisted on sleeping in your bed last night." She said softly, wanting to prepare him for the moment instead of having him stumbling upon it unprepared and at the brink of exhaustion.

Again House nodded, before moving away from her touch and heading up towards the stairs the would lead him to the second floor.

* * *

Walking inside the master bedroom, House paused just inside of the doorway. Gazing down upon his two children who were fast asleep inside the king sized bed he shared with his wife.

Underneath the covers, Jessica and Ryan were lying on Lisa's side of the bed with Ryan's back facing him as both of children lay on their sides, facing each other.

Jessica's injured right arm was now out of the sling and had been draped protectively around her brother, her mind no doubt, pushing past the pain of the sprained muscle as the need to comfort her sibling had taken precedence over it.

House stood there for a few more minutes just looking at them. Older sister and younger brother huddled together in the one place where the scent of their Mother would be the strongest. Drifting off to sleep while the presence of Lisa was found in the softness of her feather pillow and warmth of the cotton sheets. Providing them with the much needed solace they were seeking and that she was unable to give them at the moment.

Running his hand over his coarse beard, House let out a silent, drawn out sigh, clearing his lungs of every last breath. Needing to rid himself of any remaining anger regarding the shitty situation they had all been given before he eased down onto the bed. Needing to.

Clearing his throat to try and rid the tightness inside his chest that had plagued him for most of the day, House carefully rested his cane against the nightstand on his side of the bed, toeing off his shoes next before carefully pulling back the covers and lying down into the mattress, remaining fully clothed as he was too wearing to even think about undressing further.

His movements, however cautious they had been, stirred Jessica from her slumber, her eyes fluttering open and widening slightly as her Father's face came into view.

"Dad." She whispered, not sure if she was really awake or just dreaming of having him here with her.

"How's the shoulder?" House whispered back to her, reaching out and tracing the curve of her elbow with his fingertips, his touch as soft as the down feathers that her head was resting upon.

"It's a little stiff right now." Jessica told him in a hushed voice as she flexed her fingers flexed against Ryan's back just as her brother let out a soft hum, rolling away from her and now facing their Father.

"Do you want me to get you some Tyelnol?" House asked her as he glanced down at Ryan, who remained asleep with a frown upon his face.

Jessica shook her head slightly. "It doesn't hurt that bad right now." She told him honestly as the flexing of her fingers seemed to have eased the pain a bit.

Before he could ask her another question about her injury, Jessica spoke once more.

"Is Mom going to be ok?" She then asked her Father softly as he blue eyes looked deeply into his.

House placed his hand on her hip. "Your Mom is doing very well and the swelling in her brain is continuing to decrease." He told her softly.

"Is Mom awake yet?" Jessica asked as the glimmer of hope he had provided her moved into the tone of her voice.

"Not yet….. but most patients in her condition can take up to three days to regain consciousness." House replied, moving his hand up towards her face so that his thumb could caress her jaw after seeing the disappointment in her eyes.

"Oh." Jessica responded with a bit of sadness in her tone.

"Don't worry Jessie… I told you Mom is going to better. You just have to be patient." Ryan whispered from below them both.

"Hey…how long have you've been awake?" House asked his son softly as he moved his hand over to Ryan's shoulder.

"I don't know. Ever since I hear you and Jessie talking?" Ryan answered, shrugging his shoulders as the frown remained on his face.

"Come here." House told his son, patting the small space that separated them. "You too." He added as he looked over at Jessica who had carefully raised her arm up and away from her brother before scooting closer to the center of the mattress along with Ryan, placing her arm around her little brother again.

Once they were all in place, House stretched his own arm over both of them, resting the palm of his hand on Jessica's back.

"Better?" He asked his kids, who quickly nodded in agreement.

"Just remember, the first one that farts gets a punch in the mouth." He added, feeling the first smile in hours stretching over the corners of his mouth as the comment had succeeded in causing both Jessica and Ryan to laugh out loud.

"Dad? Can I bring Mom flowers and card when we go to the hospital tomorrow?" Ryan asked in a soft, almost shy voice as he gazed up at his Father with the slate grey eyes of his Mother.

"You can bring you Mom anything you want to." House assured his son, who, despite of his rambunctious nature, was at his core a very sweet and thoughtful boy.

"Dad, do you think Mom is going to be in the hospital for a long time?" Jessica asked with a hint of worry to her tone as she began to chew on her bottom lip.

"I really won't know that until your Mom wakes up." House told her honestly, "but one thing I do know for sure is that your Mom wouldn't want you _or_ your brother worrying about her like you are right now. So instead of worrying…..how about tomorrow morning before we go and see your Mom, we try and think of some ways you and Ryan can help her while she's getting better." He suggested, knowing that whatever may end up happening in their future, making sure that Jessica and Ryan felt valued and needed would help to ease a great deal of the anxiety they were feeling right now.

"Ok." Jessica agreed as she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Yeah Dad, I want to help Mom too." Ryan agreed as well with an eager tone.

"Good, then the best the thing both of you can do right now is try and get as much rest as you can." House advised each of kids, leaning towards them and giving Jessica and Ryan each a kiss on their foreheads while being mindful of Ryan's stitches before pulling the covers up around them once more.

They had all talked for a few more minutes after that before Ryan and Jessica were sound asleep once more. The stress they had endured from the day before still taking a toll on them as their minds gave way to their exhaustion. Leading them back into the dreams that held the pleasant memories of their Mother while the nightmare of their lives stayed and waited for them on the other side.

Carefully rolling onto his back, House stared up at the ceiling. Every single thought inside of his head now hell bent on making sure Lisa would return to them all and the life she had helped him build.....no matter what it would take.

"I'm not giving up on you. So don't you dare give up on me." House whispered just before he closed his eyes, finding the scent of Lisa's perfume leading him into his dreams of her as he breathed in deep with her presence surrounding him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok guys..time for more of this story. Thanks again for the great reviews!**

**Chapter 13**

For the next two days, Cuddy remained unconscious as her light into the waking world was currently snuffed out, even though she continued to show steady improvements with each passing hour.

During that time, Jessica and Ryan had been at their Mother's side day and night as much as House would allow them to be as he made it his mission no to have his kids exhaust themselves while still contributing to their Mother's recovery.

For Jessica's part, she took it upon herself to bring a favorite hardback novel Cuddy had given to her a few years back as a birthday present so she could sit by her Mother's bedside and the read the story of Anne of Green Gables to her out loud. Sharing the journey of the red headed orphan with the one person who knew how much she treasured the story.

As for Ryan, he had brought with him the acoustic guitar his Mom and Dad had bought for him a few months back. Staring off by playing soft melodies throughout the day to keep the silence at bay from time to time.....until today that is, when Ruth had finally encouraged him to sing along with the music.

"Nana…I don't know if I can." Ryan softly whispered as his hands stilled on the strings while he sat next to his Mother's bed.

From the seat next to him, Jessica turned to face her brother. "Ryan, you know how much Mom loves it when you sing to her. It's just like when she watches me dive. She's get that great big smile on her face that lets you know how proud she is of you." She reminded him gently as he placed her hand on his shoulder.

Ryan swallowed hard and nodded. "Ok." He agreed softly, taking in a deep breath before he closed his eyes and began to play the guitar once more as a new song emerged from deep inside of him.

Opening up hiis mouth, his voice was shaky at first as he began to sing. Much like the frightened child he was, facing a situation that would forever change the way he looked at the world as a part of his innocence had been stripped away from him.

"_They didn't have you where I come.__Never knew the best was yet to come. __Life began when I saw your face……__and I hear your laugh like a serenade."_

Ryan sang out softly as his fingers gently began strumming the strings of the guitar.

Keeping his eyes closed as the tender side of his heart began to emerge, the boy continued to sing to his Mother.

_"How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Cause I'm never, never giving you up….."_

Ryan sang out with a voice so achingly close to a whisper, gently tapping his right foot as his eyebrows moved up and down with the emotion coming forth from inside of him.

Listening to her grandson as he sang the beautiful and deeply moving song, Ruth felt the tears well up in eyes. The lullaby that had been written from a Mother to her child, transformed by Ryan with the ease and grace of an angel.

Finding the feeling rising within him that could not be denied, Ryan opened up his eyes, looking over at his Mother as he sang the next verse of the song to her.

"_I slip in bed when you're asleep. To hold you close and feel your breath on me. Tomorrow there'll be so much to do. So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you. How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Cause I'm never, never giving you up…"_

From beside her brother, Jessica wiped the tears from her eyes. Feeling the hand of her Grandfather upon her shoulder giving her a gentle comforting squeeze as he looked down at her. Telling her in his smile, without speaking a word that not all tears are bad as they allow our hearts to breath and take in moments like this which help to fill them.

Out of all the songs Ryan had played and sung to her throughout the years…this song traveled deeper inside of Jessica's soul than any one of them had before. Finding that part of her that she never even knew existed until just now.

With his grey eyes set upon his Mother, Ryan continued to sing to her an only her. His voice weathered with the wisdom of that old soul inside of him that seemed to have been reborn in his nine year old body as he continued to expose everything he was to her as he reached into the darkness where his Mother was trapped and beckoned for her to come back to them all.

"_As you wander through this troubled world. In search of all things beautiful. You can close your eyes when you're miles away....and hear my voice like a serenade. How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Cause I'm never, never giving you …..."_

From the doorway of the hospital room, House watched his son in utter and complete awe. The same boy who had been jumping his bike over a shoddily constructed wooden ramp only a few days ago as Lisa had yelled out a warning to him, now sitting before his Mother a completely different child. His son's talent ....at its very peak right now and exposed for all to see.

House took in a breath...knowing his boy was one of only a few on this earth to find such hidden depth when it came to the music he played it would reach into a person's soul without warning and leave them touched in every way that is good in this world.

"_How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Cause I'm never, never giving you up." _Ryan sang out softly once more, his eyes never leaving his Mother's face until he played the last note of the song.

A soft hush of silence then gently moved into the space around Ryan as the music continued on inside of his head. His eyes slowly rising to meet his Father's gaze as he stood in the doorway. His small hands trembling slightly as he glanced briefly over at Jessica, handing her the guitar before he stood up abruptly from the chair he was seated in and walked over to his Dad with his hands now clenched into fists as he tried to stop them from shaking.

Once Ryan had reached him, House placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "Wanna get out of here for a second?" He asked the boy with soft, knowing tone.

Ryan nodded, glancing back at his Mother, still unconscious and lying in the hospital bed before he followed beside his Dad as they walked out into the hallway together.

"Dad?" Ryan said in a broken whisper a few seconds later as they made their way towards the elevator.

House looked down at his son, seeing the tears rimming the boy's eyes. "You ok?" He asked hm as he placed his arm around Ryan's shoulders.

"I don't know Dad…I feel so weird. Like there's nothing left inside of me." Ryan explained, swallowing hard as he fought back the overwhelming urge to cry.

House lowered himself down the boy's level, drawing Ryan closer to him and moving his hands to his son's shoulder as they remained in the middle of the deserted hallway.

"That's because you gave your Mom everything you had inside of you just now…without holding anything back." He explained gently as his hand cupped the left side of Ryan's face.

Ryan nodded in understanding, looking down at the tile floor beneath them both before raising his eyes up to his Father again.

"It was worth it." Ryan said softly to his Father, finding an odd smile overtake his face as the remembered sound of his Mother's laughter which had been suddenly pulled up from the part him that he thought had been left empty.

* * *

On the morning of the third day after Cuddy's accident, the breathing tube was removed from her throat as well as the drainage tube in her skull. Her responses to stimuli, positive..... even though she remained unconscious.

This of course meant one of two possible outcomes. Either Lisa Cuddy was soon going to be waking up and joining her family again as she continued to heal from her injuries….. or…she had suffered some sort of brain damage as a result of accident that was still hidden from view in the MRI images.

That night and a little after 3am, House finally received the answer to the question that had been eating away at him ever since the accident as beside him Cuddy began to stir.

"Mmmmmm?" Cuddy hummed, swallowing hard as she willed her eyes open.

"Lisa...hey...I'm here." House whispered, reaching for her hand and swallowing hard as well as she turned her head to look at him with her brilliant grey eyes focusing in on his face.

"Where… …where am I?" She asked him in hoarse voice, feeling as if her mouth had been lined with cotton.

"You're at the hospital. You were in a car accident." House explained to her slowly as Cuddy's eyes closed, then opened again.

"Did the accident happen when I was on my way to your trial?" Cuddy asked next, trying to work up some saliva in her mouth.

House felt his own mouth go dry.

"You .....you think you were on you way to the courthouse for the drugs charges Tritter had on me?" He asked, feeling a knot start to form in the pit of his stomach.

Cuddy stared back at him blankly for a moment, looking down at his hand that was holding onto her before she answered.

"What's wrong?" She asked him with panic starting to set in her voice.

House kept hold of her hand as the new reality of their situation hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Lisa.....my trail ended over thirteen years ago." House told her as gently as he could watching with an aching heart as the tears welled up in her eyes and an expression of shock took over her face.

"That can't be. Why are you doing this? Why are you calling me Lisa? Did I.........did I have suffer a head injury?" She asked him with a tight throat as the scenario played out in her mind, pulling her hand away form him and automatically moving it up to her head as the medical side of her brain had kicked in.

Within the next second her breath caught inside of her throat as the fingers of her left hand located the patch of missing hair as well as the prickly feel of the fresh stitches sticking out of her scalp.

"Oh..god." She mumbled, moving her hand to her mouth as a single tear ran down her cheek.

"It's going to be ok….." House found himself saying in a hollow tone that even he did not believe at the moment.

"I don't understand. You said your trial ended thirteen years ago. I've lost thirteen years of my life? House, what happened to me? How did I end up here at the hospital?" Cuddy questioned as her voice trembled along with her hands that had now fallen to her sides and were gripping onto the sheets pooled around her lap.

House leaned forward, taking her left hand in his own once more and dying inside as he watched that same confusion expression move up on her face when he did so.

She didn't know him anymore......at least not like this. To her he was the same old sob who gave her nothing but grief...no longer her husband or her lover and certainly not the Father of their children.

"You were on the way to the dentist office with Jessica and Ryan when a truck ran a stop sign and plowed into your car." House started off, not sure why in the hell he was speaking to her of their children she would not remember as his heart took over the lead for the moment as his brain was still too stunned from the shock.

"Who are Jessica and Ryan?" Cuddy asked, feeling the anxiety and confusion growing inside of her as House looked back at her with an expression she could only interrupt as one that was filled with devastation.

"They're our kids." House said softly, knowing there really was no way to easy inform her of the present at this point.

Cuddy's brow furrowed in disbelief. "We….wait....you ...and I have kids together?" She asked him with shock, noticing at that moment how much older he looked under the glare of the fluorescent lights. The small patches of grey hair peppering his days worth of stubble even more apparent than she had last remembered.

"Well most people _do need to be together _at some point to have kids in the first place." House responded, cursing himself a second later for the wise ass remark he had made in a totally inappropriate situation.

Feeling his thumb grazing over her hand Cuddy looked down at it, noticing as her mind cleared more of the fog from around it that they were wearing matching wedding bands.

"House, are we…did we get married?" She questioned, feeling as if she was trapped in some strange new world where everything she had known to be true was cast aside and scattered into the wind.

* * *

"Pick a spot on the wall behind you and focus on it." Foreman said to Cuddy a short while later as he sat beside her on the bed, flashing a penlight into her right eye as House and Wilson stood off to the side of the room watching him.

"Ok, now do the same thing with the other eye." Foreman instructed a few seconds later.

Cuddy did as she was told, remaining silent and still shaken from the news that House….or rather her _husband _had told a few minutes ago just before Foreman and Wilson had arrived.

She was _married _and had two kids to a man who was at the brink of destruction from vicodin abuse the last time she remembered. The miserable son of bitch facing charges because of stealing some dead man's pills.

It was all so _confusing_….. so very surreal in every sense of the word, her life obviously lived for the past 13 years by her with her having no memory of it at all.

"Lisa, I need you to follow my finger." Foreman asked of her, temporarily taking Cuddy away from her thoughts.

Again Cuddy complied without speaking a word.

"Well, everything looks normal…..aside from the amnesia that is. Of course we're going to be sending you downstairs for another MRI though." Foreman explained to her as he got up from the bed.

"Thanks." Cuddy replied softly, "for performing the surgery as well as taking of care of me while I was in here." She clarified as her eyes stayed locked onto his.

Foreman let a small exhale of air come out of his nose, hating see the strong woman before him looking so lost at the moment.

"Cuddy, you know as well as I do that amnesia is almost never permanent." He reminded her while placing his penlight inside the front pocket of his lab coat.

Cuddy nodded, intent on casting her eyes away from Foreman and over to the wall behind them both when she found her gaze intercepted by House along the way.

She held her breath as the seconds passed between them, searching inside of those mysterious and often troubled blue eyes, trying to find exactly what they meant to each other.

Did they have a good marriage? Did he love her every bit, if not more so than he had ever loved Stacey? Was he still on vicodin? Was he still unable to ever open up her fully despite that fact that they had created two children together?

"Listen Cuddy, I'm going to let you have some time alone with House before we take you down for the next MRI." Foreman informed her as he placed her chart back onto the hook hanging on the end of her bed, causing her to focus her eyes on him once more.

"Ok." Cuddy responded, watching as Formen turned to leave and surprised when House ended up following him out of the room, leaving her alone with Wilson who looked as if he had literally just jumped out of bed, dressed in an old tshirt and sweatpants.

Wilson waited until he was sure both House and Foreman had continued down the hallway before he stepped closer to the hospital bed Cuddy had elevated into a seated position.

"Lisa, I know this has to be very hard for you, but just like Foreman said, chances are in your favor for a full recovery of all of your memories." He informed her with a gentle, reassuring tone.

Cuddy looked up at him, noticing how the boyish appearance of her lead Oncologist had only weathered slightly in the years that had passed.

"Do House and I love each other?" She asked him point blank, needing to know exactly where her relationship was with the man who she had been told was her husband.

Wilson gave her a sympathetic half smile, carefully sitting down on the bed next to her. "The two of you love each other more than I thought either of you ever could." He assured her while with a soft smile.

Cuddy shifted inside the hospital bed, keeping her cool grey eyes fixed on Wilson's face.

It all sounded too good to be true. The thought that Gregory House, a man who was haunted by so many demons and plagued by the never ending pain in his thigh would find all that he desired and wanted in her and that she would find the same in him.

Seeing the doubt filling her eyes, Wilson gently lifted his hand and caressed Cuddy's shoulder. "You'll see Lisa….just wait until you spend time with House and your kids…" He started to say.

"Oh my god....are the kids…are Jessica and Ryan ok? House told me they were in the car with me and I never thought about asking about them until just now." Cuddy choked out in surprise as her eyes grew wide with shock and pang of guilt from somewhere unfamiliar moved through her.

Wilson nodded. "Jessica and Ryan are fine…a little banged up but nothing serious and don't be so hard on yourself, you just woke up form a coma for gods sake." He told her with a small smile, continuing to give her all the support he could while hoping that soon her elusive memories would come back to her.

* * *

After a few more minutes of talking with Wilson about the children in her life Cuddy watched as House entered back to the room. A silent nod being exchanged by both men as Wilson got up from the bed and left.

With her grey eyes watching his every move, Cuddy studied House as he made his way over to the chair beside her bed.

His limp was barely noticeable now, leaving her to wonder if he had increased the dose of his vicodin or ..if he had found another way to deal with the pain.

_He looks healthy though, really healthy..... as in not popping pills every second healthy, _Cuddy thought to herself as she watched House ease himself down into the chair beside her.

"Want to see some pictures of our kids?" House asked her almost shyly, feeling so out of place right now with the one person who knew him better than anyone else in his life ever had.

"I'd like that." Cuddy replied with a nod just a shyly, not fully believing the coversation they were having at the moment and finding herself needing to see the proof of their children's existence in order to start to make some sense of everything she had been told.

House lifted himself off of the chair slightly and retrieved his wallet from his back pocket before sitting back down, opening up the black leather billfold and fishing out two of the most recent photos of each of their kids.

"This is Jessica........ she's thirteen going on thirty." He then said, presenting her with the first photo.

Cuddy took in a breath as she stared down at the photograph.

The girl smiling up at her was absolutely stunning. A true beauty in ever sense of the word even with the innocence of youth still on her side.

"She's beautiful." Cuddy whispered over to House, unable to tear her eyes away from the young girl whose long, dark loose curls were a spot on match in shade for own her along with the shape of her nose and contour of her cheekbones. It was however the piercing blues eyes of the breathtaking girl that left Cuddy with no doubt in her mind that this child was indeed the combination of her and the man sitting next to her.

"She's also too smart for her own good ..... and tests us around ever corner." House advised her with a small smile upon his face, finding comfort in the way Cuddy was smiling at their daughter.

"So I got pregnant with Jessica shortly after all that mess with Tritter?" Cuddy asked as him with her finger subconsciously caressing the edge of the photograph.

House nodded in confirmation. "Yep…almost ten months after you kept me out of jail by lying for me on the witness stand, thereby allow us to end up making her." He confirmed, watching as a smile formed on the corners of her lips.

"I remember that! I mean not the actual lying but I remember making the decision_ to lie _for you in the hopes that you'd finally get your act together and stop being such a danger to yourself and everyone around you." Cuddy commented, suddenly excited at the prospect that there was still a place in time where she could stand firmly on both feet.

"Well…you'll be happy to know you ended up getting your wish." House answered back to her in a low voice, feeling his heartstrings pulled mercilessly by the way she was looking at him now.

Cuddy felt a current of electricity run through her body as a brief silence moved into the air around them, leaving them looking at one another.

There was definitely something there between them now…..she could feel it. Something deep and meaningful and just out of her reach…..but there was no denying it was there.

"Ready to get a look a Ryan?" House asked her, breaking the silence between them as he was not able to linger in her gaze for too long while she remained oceans away from him inside of her mind.

Cuddy nodded, drawing in her bottom lip at the flutter he had caused inside of her heart as House handed her the second photo he had pulled out from his inside his wallet.

The moment she laid her eyes upon the image of the blond headed boy in the picture she let out a soft laugh as a wide smile moved across her face.

"He looks like you." She commented to House with a fondness to her voice, tracing the edge of the photograph with her fingertip as _their son_….who looked to be around eight or nine grinned back at her with a lopsided smile along with a pair of grey eyes that matched her own.

"I better warn you now……our nine year old son is hell on wheel's but thankfully he did get some of your common sense to keep him alive during the merging of our DNA." House told her while studying ever feature on her face as Cuddy's eyes stayed connected on the photo.

The tone of his voice, caused her to look up at him again. The way it had seemed to soften and lower at the same time from out of nowhere as he spoke to her, telling her another bit of the truth about them as a couple. He cared for her.......in a way she had never known before, causing the flutter to rise up in her heart once more as her eyes were drawn back into his gaze.

* * *

Driving to the hospital at five o'clock in the morning while Bill had stayed behind at Lisa's home with their sleeping grandchildren, Ruth tightened her grip on the steering wheel as a million thoughts ran through her head.

Wilson had said that even though Lisa was suffering from Amnesia, it was highly doubtful she would remain this way.

He had said even though most people don't remember the accident they were in, they do pick up more and more pieces leading up to that day along the road of their recovery.

But despite what Wilson had assured her of, the knuckles on Ruth's fingers were now white from the death grip they held upon the steering. Her worries running deeper than any ocean. Her fears stretching down further than any canyon.

Her daughter, her child, was lost right now. The past now her present, the memories of the life she had lived for the past thirteen years which had brought her more joy and love than she could ever dreamed of, now painfully out of reach.

Pressing her foot on the gas, Ruth willed the car under her power to go faster. Commanding the vehicle to keep up with the furious pace of her thoughts as the tires beneath her roared over the black macadam just as the sun started to appear above the horizon.

* * *

_***And for those of you who want to know the name of the song that Ryan sang to Cuddy it's called "Lullaby" by the Dixie Chicks ;)**_

_**Also I think there were some of you who told me I was evil b/c you knew where the story was going..lol..well..I didn't title this story "Memories of Us" for nothing ;)**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok so, busy next couple of days for me means you guys get this chapter early. However, it also means I may not be posting until next week. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts;)**

**Chapter 14**

Entering inside of Lisa's hospital room, Ruth found her daughter sitting up in her bed and staring out at the sunrise from the window to her left as her hands were clasped on top her lap. Looking so alone at that particular moment it had almost brought her to tears.

"Lisa." Ruth said softly, alerting her daughter of her presence as she walked up to her hospital bed.

"Mom?" Cuddy replied, slightly surprised by her arrival as her eyes scanned over every inch of her Mother's face.

There was no doubt her Mother had aged from the last time she had remembered seeing her, however she was still just as beautiful as ever, with a certain kind of grace that followed her every move.

"I'm sorry you had to drive all the way up from Cape May." Cuddy said a second later as her mother drew closer to the bed.

The remark caused Ruth to pause for a moment before slowly sitting down in the chair next to her daughter.

"Lisa, I don't live in Cape May anymore. I live here in Princeton now." Ruth explained softly, seeing first hand for herself what it was like for only one of them to remember the past they had shared.

Cuddy eyed her Mother even more closely than before. The expression on her face right now, reassuring and tender and oh so vastly different from the guarded woman she had remembered trying to reach out to for years.

"Things have changed between the two of us. Haven't they?" She asked her mother almost knowingly as her eyes never wavered from Ruth's face.

_Was the feeling she had just experienced regarding her relationship with her Mother mere intuition? Or ......was it a small fragment of her memory that had just broken free from wherever it had been hiding inside of her brain?_

"Things have changed between us, Lisa…" Ruth confirmed, "and believe it or not… most of it was because of House." She went on to say, pausing for a moment when she saw the surprise rise up upon her daughter's face.

"That doesn't sound like the House I know." Cuddy commented back to her mother almost immediately.

Leaning forward, Ruth took hold of her daughter's hand. "I know it doesn't honey, but just remember,.....you and House didn't get where you are today overnight, even though it may _seem _that way in your mind right now. However, I can assure you with all of my that heart that House _has _changed from the person you once knew. Not so much that you'd think he's a different person now, but enough to make you fall in love with him and have his children and during that time he's also helped me deal with some things from my own past that I had tried to forget for years. Things that prevented me from opening up to you and being the kind of Mother you deserved to have in your life." Ruth went started to explain, softening her tone as she watched the surprised look rise up onto her daughter's face once more.

* * *

As the conversation between Mother and daughter started off towards their past, Ruth spent the next several hours sitting in the chair next to Lisa's bed. Talking to her about all that had occurred between them in the thirteen years of their lives together. Sharing the tears with her daughter when it came to recounting her own ordeal as a child when she had been abducted at the age of thirteen as well as being the first person to tell Lisa about a man named Jeff Hansom who had come into their lives…..nearly destroying them all.

Ruth's words were now spanning the years in the matter of minutes. The history she was sharing with Lisa, starting to fill in the great chasm of the unknowns that resided inside of her mind.

While in the midst of their journey into the past, Ruth had made sure to stop along they way and give time for her daughter to take in everything she was being told as well as having time to asks the questions that were sure to come. Her Mother, making sure to tell Lisa of all the blessings that had come their way along with their tragedies, including a very important blessing in the form of an older, white haired physician named Bill Martin, who thankfully, was one person Lisa _did_ remember because of his long tenure at the hospital.

"I can see why you fell in love with Bill….he was always such a kind and sweet man." Cuddy said to her mother with a small smile as they neared the end of the conversation they had been having.

Ruth smiled back at her daughter, looking into her grey eyes as Lisa leaned back onto the pillow behind her.

"Lisa you look tired. I should leave for a little bit and let get some rest before the kids come to see you." Ruth commented over to her daughter as she gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Cuddy nodded, looking down at their hands that had remained clasped together throughout their conversation.

"Thank you for telling me about the past. I only hope some day soon I'll remember it on my own." Cuddy then said to her mother with a hint of worry attached to her tone.

Ruth gave her daughter a sympathetic smile, "I have no doubt you _will _remember honey. I just think you've been through so much there's just a part of your brain that needs a break for now, but one thing you never need to doubt while you're still suffering from amnesia is that fact that your husband and your children love you more than anything and would be lost without you." She reminded Lisa with a soothing voice.

Cuddy felt the tears well up in her eyes as the adoration currently within her Mother's eyes for her moved into the center of her heart.

"Oh Lisa ..I'm sorry …I didn't mean to upset you honey." Ruth responded with a hushed voice as she saw her daughter on the verge of tears.

"You didn't upset me Mom." Cuddy assured her Mother as she took in a deep breath while feeling the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss her mother's cheek just so she could carry the scent of her perfume with her for the rest of the day.

* * *

Meanwhile inside House's office, Ryan and Jessica had just arrived at the hospital a few minutes ago with Bill who had left the kids in care of their Father as well as Wilson after getting a phone call from Ruth saying she would be meeting him down in the cafeteria after she had left Lisa's hospital room.

"So Mom doesn't even know we're her kids?" Ryan asked his Dad with disbelief and a heart wrenching sadness to his tone, looking up at House as he slouched down further into one of the two chairs in front of his Father's desk he was seated in.

"Just because your Mom doesn't remember the two of you doesn't mean you have to act any differently around her." Wilson informed the Ryan and Jessica in a calm manner while standing beside House and in front of both kids.

"Of course it means we have to act differently around her!" Jessica yelled back at Wilson, startling him as a mixture of anger and sorrow rushed through her veins in an instant as she remained seated beside her brother.

"My Mom doesn't remember who we are! She doesn't remember anything about us! We're nothing more then strangers to her now!" Jessica went on to say as her hands held a death grip on the arms of her chair.

House set his eyes squarely upon his daughter, instantly garnering her attention. "And what do you think your Mom would do right now if _you _were the one lying in that hospital bed instead of her?" He questioned to her in a calm, yet direct tone.

Jessica looked back at her Father with blank expression. "I…I don't know." She mumbled, casting her eyes away from him for the moment as the sting of tears filled them.

"_You do know._" House challenged taking a step toward her and daring his daughter to find the strength inside of her that was currently hidden beneath her fear.

Ryan looked up at his Father and then over at his sister as her eyes remained focused on the carpet beneath their feet.

"Jessie…what is Dad talking about?" He asked her with confusion, looking to his older sister for the direction he so desperately needed right now.

Jessica glanced over at Ryan, drawing in her bottom lip before her eyes glanced up at her Father, finding him waiting on her response.

"Dad wants us to be like Mom would be if it was one of us had amnesia." Jessica started to say out loud with her eyes never wavering from her Father's gaze. "Which means, we never give up on her and tell her everyday that we believe in her and that she _will _get better and remember us." She continued softly as her eyes returned to Ryan's face.

From in front of her, Wilson felt a lump rise up in his throat as the daughter of his best friend explained _exactly_ why their Mother was so precious to all of them.

"Oh." Ryan replied thoughtfully with a small smile upon his face. "So Dad wants us to be the way Mom is when you're trying out a new dive or when I'm playing the piano and I just can't seem to get the music right?" He asked, looking to his big sister for reassurance.

Jessica nodded, glancing up a her Father again and seeing the approving look in his eyes. "That's right, Ryan." She assured him, realizing in that moment that she had become more than her Father's little girl just now as his challenge for her to push past her own fears let her know how much she was needed, not only by her Mother, but also her Father as well and that she, along with Ryan were going to be essential in helping their family deal with the hand fate had dealt out to them.

* * *

Standing inside the bathroom in her hospital room after her Mother had left, Cuddy looked at her image in the mirror as her fingertips traced over the bruises on her face.

The fine lines on her forehead and around her eyes were now more apparent now than they had been before, reassuring her that everything she had been told up until this point was true.

The loss of her memory loss, the loss of details of her life, painfully out of reach and somewhere hidden inside of her.

Continuing to look at her reflection, Cuddy's fingertips stilled on her cheekbone as she thought back to the horrible story her Mother had todl her regarding her past with a man named Jeff Hansom and how it had made her feel hollow inside as the emotions once once tied to the sadistic man were now drifting aimlessly around somewhere inside of her.

Sure, common sense would tell her that there were some memories she would be _lucky _to forget...but if meant not remembering finally finding love with a man who she feared would never conquer his demons, she would gladly live over her bad memories a thousand times. If she could find the memories of the birth of the babies she had longed for, she would re-live any nightmare of the past thirteen years without question.

Drawing in her bottom lip, Cuddy moved her hand up to the stitches on her head, feeling the tears move into her eyes as she started to mourn all that she had lost.

_Why did this have to happen to her ? Why did everything have to be taken away from her when she had not doubt survived the horrible things in her past and found the happiness she had dreamed of for so long .....only to lose it as quickly a leaf caught in a cold autumn breeze?_

Lowering her hand onto the cool porcelain of the sink as it trembled from the painful reality of her situation, Cuddy suddenly experienced the bright flash of a memory, taking her breath away.

She had been standing inside of bathroom much like this one, with House standing behind her.

His hands remembered on her waist as he helped her keep her balance. Her right foot held inside of a cast.....and just like that it was gone, the memory retreating back inside of her brain and leaving only the ghost of its existence behind.

"At least it's something." Cuddy whispered to herself as she continued to gaze into the mirror, still feeling the phantom touch of House's hands upon her hips.

"At least it's something." She repeated again to herself, remembering the gentle, yet protective touch of a man who had been gazing into the mirror at her as his lips brushed against her neck, sending a chill down her spine. A man who may indeed love her just as much as everyone had been telling her he did.

* * *

Back inside of her hospital room and lying on top of her bed once more, Cuddy held the pictures of Jessica and Ryan that House had given her in left hand as she rolled onto her side, moving her right hand up to where the hair on her head had been shaved and finding the spiny area where six stitches resided.

She could already feel the growth of the short coarse hairs on her scalp around the stitches taking up the space form the long hair which had been shaved off during her surgery. The few days she had been unconscious, not halting the healing process from occurring there.

With a heavy sigh, Cuddy looked down at the photo's she held within in her hand once more as her eyes grew heavy. Hoping, that with her slumber would come even more growth and healing from inside her brain, allowing her to find her way back to the memories where the love she had for children and husband resided, safe and sound and waiting for her to come and find them.

* * *

In the hour that passed as Cuddy lay sleeping inside of her hospital bed, House had taken Jessica and Ryan down to the cafeteria to meet up with Ruth and Bill in order to get the kids some lunch before they headed up to see their Mother as Wilson opted on going home for lunch to fill Cindy and Ethan in on Lisa's process.

Now, as Cuddy rolled onto her back with the pictures of her children falling onto the pillowcase beside her, she opened up her eyes, catching her breath as a man she remembered very well looked down at her from the foot of the bed.

"Jack?" She questioned, willing her eyes to stay open as she reached for the control button to move herself back into a seated position while wondering if she was indeed still dreaming.

"It's so good so see you've finally woken up, Lisa." Jack replied to her softly, already knowing of her amnesia after once more viewing her electronic medical record while installing some new software into the hospital's computer system this morning.

Cuddy stared at Jack for a few seconds as her eyes traced every inch of his face, noticing the slight graying of hair at his temples and the fine lines of crow's feet around his eyes, telling her once more of the time that had passed in her life.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" She then asked, totally confused as to why the man who had cheated on her years ago was now here, inside her hospital room.

"Didn't House tell you about me coming back here to install my new software onto the hospitals computer system?" Jack asked her with mock surprise.

Cuddy shook her head. "No." She answered, becoming even more confused as the seconds ticked by them.

Jack let out a soft sigh as he sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"Of course House didn't tell you about me. I'm sorry Lisa, here I am talking about computer software and you don't even remember being married to the man who you once told me was the biggest pain in the ass you ever met." He joked as his eyes never wavered from her face.

"So.... I _approved_you coming back here to install the software?" Cuddy asked as she continued to stare at him in disbelief while feeling a slight throbbing in the back of her skull.

"Yes, you did." Jack assured her softly, knowing that because of her amnesia he could pretty much spin things to her anyway he wanted to at the moment.

"But…..but why would I want you to come back after what you did to me?" Cuddy asked him directly as none of what he was saying to her right now was making any sense to her at the moment.

With a serious expression upon his face, Jack leaned closer to her. "That's something I've been wondering myself." He whispered over to Cuddy watching as her eyes filled with surprise as well as a bit of apprehension.

* * *

It was shortly after Jack had left Cuddy's room, leaving her completely confused and with the dull thud of a headache inside of her brain that she heard the sounds of several footsteps approaching her doorway.

"Hey Mama! Your baby boy is finally here!" Ryan yelled out a second later with a wide, crooked grin upon his face as he dramatically bounded into the room.

Cuddy looked over at the blonde headed boy with a stunned expression. Only House's son could succeed on making a lastly impression on her like that.

Not put off but the surprised expression on his Mother's face in the least, Ryan spoke once more.

"Listen Mom, I know you don't remember me but I usually do and say some really crazy things that always make you laugh. I also like to tease Jessie and ramp my bike off of things as well as playing the piano like nobodies business." The boy went on to inform his Mother as he waked right up to her and plopped down next to her on the bed.

For a moment Cuddy said nothing, still completely stunned as well as being instantly entranced by the young boy who she could not help but smile down at as the ache in her head gave way to the intriguing nine year old ball of energy beside her.

"Don't' pay attention too much attention to him, Mom. Ryan is basically a complete nut job who you try and control the best as you can." Jessica remarked sarcastically as she walked up to the bed with her Father following beside her.

Even though she appeared cool and collected, Jessica was in fact nervous. Not sure of really what _to say to her mother _given the current circumstances. Deciding to fall back on her wit to try to break the ice with the women before her, who... up until this point, had known everything there was to know about her.

Cuddy gave her daughter a small smile. "You're even more beautiful than your photo." She commented softly to the girl as indeed the photograph she had studied of Jessica earlier, fell short in capturing the breathtaking beauty the young girl truely was.

"Thank you." Jessica replied back to her just as softly.

"And..." Cuddy started to say. "One of the things I do remember is I have quite a knack fo taking care of nut jobs." Cuddy replied back to her daughter before glancing up at House and finding herself unable to stop herself from smiling at him.

_There it was again, that feeling…that inkling inside of her that had rose up in an instant and flirted openly with House as if it had been second nature to her._

"Are you sure you _really _have amnesia?" House asked her in a low whisper as both of their kids giggled slightly.

Looking up at her husband as she felt Ryan reach for her hand and place it in his own, Cuddy hoped once more that soon her memories would come back to her. Reassuring her that her life was just as perfect as it seemed to be right now, thereby squashing the newly acquired doubt which had burrowed deep inside of her mind after Jack Hall had paid her a visit.


	15. Chapter 15

**Ok guys after a busy weekend with the fam I finally have a new chapter ready! Hope you all enjoy it ;)**

**Chapter 15**

The next day, Cuddy was released from the hospital. Returning home with the family she could not remember as the amnesia she was experiencing continued to plague her.

It was while she was getting into the car that Ryan had asked her to sit in the back with him. The boy smiling broadly when she had agreed with his grey eyes soon widening with excitement as he then began to tell her about the times they had shared together. Most importantly, the times he had nearly scared her half to death because of some of some of his daredevil stunts as his crooked smile remained stretched across his lips......holding all the vigor and mischief of a nine year old boy.

While listening to Ryan in the backseat, Cuddy found herself drawn more and more to the sweet and animated little boy. The way Ryan's voice would rise in pitch just before he laughed, so precious and endearing it comfirmed to her that somewhere, deep inside of her brain was a treasure chest of memories where every sweet thing about Ryan had been tucked inside for safe keeping.

It was also during their conversation that Cuddy had glanced up at both House and Jessica in the front of the car from time to time in an effort to try and gauge how they were feeling about her homecoming, finding herself holding her breath whenever her grey eyes connected with House's brilliant blue eyes in the rear view mirror.

Once again there was that _feeling_. That inkling deep down inside of her, telling her the bond she shared with House was just intense and powerful as she thought it would be. The cool type of heat that was created between them in a mere glance enough to make her heart stand up and take notice.

In looking up at Jessica however, there was another feeling Cuddy experienced. One that had sprung up inside of her so suddenly, she had trouble recognizing it at first until finally it had dawned at her that her desire to become a Mother was now much more than just the deep seeded hope had once been as the concern for her child began to run deep into her veins.

It was obvious to her that Jessica was still very nervous being around her and maybe even a little afraid......which had been made apparent to her by the way the girl had glanced back at her from time to time with the blue eyes that mirrored her Father's as well as the slight worry in her brow. The flashing signs of worry, heading straight for Cuddy's heart even though the girl was trying her best to hide the emotion from her.

_You're so much like him_, Cuddy thought to herself as her eyes traced the left side of Jessica's face in the rear view mirror just as House pulled the SUV into the driveway of a beautiful two story colonial style home, parking behind a red pick up truck.

"Well Mom, in case you don't know it….we're home." Ryan informed her with another grin before unlatching his seatbelt in a flash and opening the passenger door beside him.

Cuddy let out a soft laugh as she watched Ryan close the car door behind him before running up to the front porch, leaping over a small shrub in the process.

She then waited until Jessica exited the car as well before unlatching her seatbeat and opening the car door to her right. Watching as Jessica looked up at her with surprise when she reached and placed her hand onto her shoulder as House got out of the driver's side of the car.

"It's going to be ok Jess." Cuddy whispered down to her daughter, not sure why she had shortened the girl's name as she pulled her daughter a little closer to her while House stood on the other side of the car, silently watching them both.

Jessica drew in her bottom lip, looking up at her Mother and wishing more than anything that her Mom would remember just how much she needed her....how much all of them needed her.

"Thanks Mom." Jessica whispered back to Cuddy instead, daring to wrap her arm around her Mother's waist for the briefest of seconds before releasing her quickly as the contact she had longed for ever since the accident was almost to painful to bare at the moment.

Looking down at Jessica, Cuddy thought about how many times during the past two days she had heard of herself being referred to as "Mom" and how not even _once_ it had struck her as being odd.

_That has to mean something…..right?, _Cuddy thought as she turned with Jessica and headed up to the front door of the house, catching House's gaze once more as he followed along beside them.

* * *

After stepping inside the home where she lived with her family but of course could not remember, Cuddy was greeted by both her Mother and Bill.

"Welcome home honey." Ruth said softly as she pulled her daughter into an embrace and kissed her on cheek.

"Thanks Mom." Cuddy replied as she took a step back from her.

"Lisa, you look amazing…and you're bruises are all but gone." Bill told her softly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a soft kiss on her temple.

Cuddy smiled back at the man who was still as gentle and caring as she had remembered. "Well, I feel really good as well…so let's just hope very soon I'll remember why all of you are being so sweet to me." She replied just as Ryan reached out ant took hold of her hand as they stood in the foyer.

"Come on Mom, lets going into the living room to see if you can remember anything in there." The boy coaxed, holding onto her hand and guiding her to the right as everyone else followed behind them.

Walking into the living room, Cuddy's eyes immediately focused on the numerous photographs of every shape and size that adored the walls. Some of them of House and her along with the kids during various stages of their lives. Others with Bill and Ruth standing with them, and still more with Wilson along with an attractive blonde she had been introduced to the other day named Cindy, who was not only Wilson's wife but her personal assistant at the hospital as well.

Standing between Wilson and Cindy in one of the photos was a young boy around the same age as Jessica who had a pair of gorgeous pale blue eyes and deep dimples

"So I take it this is Ethan?" Cuddy questioned, turning around to look at Jess while knowing, thanks to the conversations they had had yesterday at the hospital that this was the boy her daughter was currently dating…..or rather at least _trying _to date as much as she and House had been allowing her to do.

"Yeah, that's loverboy." House replied dryly before Jessica could answer as his eyes set upon his wife's face.

Cuddy gave her husband an amused, small smile.

_Of course he would be protective of his daughter….especially after knowing how stupid men, as well as boys could sometimes be around the fairer sex, _Cuddy thought to herself with the smile remaining on her face.

"So.....would you like to see the rest of our humble abode?" House then asked his wife as his eyes remained locked onto hers and he felt his mouth go dry.

_God he missed her so much. Especially after seeing how she was relating to their children. Leaving no doubt in his mind that even though Lisa's memories of them maybe lost for now, there was a former part of herself that seemed to have survived the accident when it came to the tenderness she was showing to both Ryan and Jessica._

"I'd love to." Cuddy agreed while seeing a slight sadness rise up in House's eyes just before it vanished. She had seen that look on his face several times in the past few days, ever since she had regained consciousness in the hospital. The longing held with in crystal blue eyes letting her know how much he loved her and needed her in a way she would have never believed before.

"Come on Mom…....I'll show you where the kitchen is." Ryan remarked from beside her, taking his mother's hand once more as Cuddy held onto the gaze she was sharing with her husband as she passed by him.

* * *

After walking into the kitchen, Bill and Ruth had told Cuddy they were going to start making lunch for all of them. Leaving the small family to venture on throughout the rest of the home as Bill headed outside to start the grill while Ruth opened up the door to the refrigerator to get some chicken breasts she had been marinating for a few hours.

"And this is your's and Dad's room." Ryan announced a few minutes later, letting go of his mother's hand as he proceeded to do a back flip onto the king sized bed in front of them.

"Oh my!" Cuddy said with a small laugh escaping her mouth.

"This is exactly why you limit Ryan's sugar intake." Jessica commented up to her mother with a smart ass grin as she sat down on the bed next to her brother who was now lying on his back with his head titled up in their direction and that lopsided grin present on his face once more.

"Ryan! Jessica! Could the two of you come down into the kitchen for a few minutes!" Bill yelled up from the bottom of the stairs with a wide grin upon his face.

"Coming!" Ryan and Jessica both yelled in unison, jumping up off of the bed and leaving the room in a flash.

Turning to watch them go, Cuddy found herself face to face with House. The proximity of their bodies causing an instant flutter of butterflies to rise up in her stomach.

"The kids have a surprise planned for you." House whispered down to his wife after seeing the puzzled expression on her face.

"Oh." Cuddy replied, biting down on her bottom lip as her eyes stayed locked onto his.

She could smell the scent of his cologne and practically feel the heat of his body coming off of him and radiating towards her.

_Did he always have this strong kind of effect on her? Or…was it simply her body trying to remind her of the chemistry between them that had led to them getting married in the first place and having to two kids along the way._

"You ok?" House asked, placing his hand on Cuddy's shoulder when he saw her eyes take on a far away look.

"I'm…I'm fine.." Cuddy whispered, feeling a bit lightheaded at the moment and placing her hands on House's chest when he had stepped closer to her.

His lips were so close to her own right now as her breath stayed trapped inside of her lungs and the overwhelming urge to kiss him rose up inside of her like a tidal wave.

Cuddy trembled slightly, her heart racing as her palm pressed into the beating House's own heart, the silent moment of intimacy between them stopping he world on a dime in that moment.

"I....I wanted to let you know I'll be sleeping in the guest bedroom for awhile." House whispered down to Cuddy as he broke the spell between them and took a step back from her. Immediately feeling the ache in his heart that had wanted to hold onto her forever and never let her go.

"You don't have to do that." Cuddy started say, already missing the warm feeling of her hand on his warm chest.

"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for me." House explained, maintaining the distance between them.

Cuddy furrowed her brow, "What do you mean you're doing this for you?" She asked him with confusion.

With his emotions pushing him forward, House took a step back in her direction.

"We…" He started to say, suddenly finding his words getting caught inside of his throat as he looked over at her.

"Let's just say we have a really…really….good sex life." House went on to say almost shyly.

_God that explanation really…really ..sucked, _he thought to himself as second later, wincing outwardly as he shook his head in dismay.

Cuddy bit down on her bottom lip as she smiled at him, drawing it into her mouth a bit.

"You don't want to take advantage of me." She then whispered to him in a soft, knowing voice while taking a step towards him to close the last bit of space remaining between them.

House looked down at her, letting out a soft sigh before a small smirk rose up on his face. He liked seeing her like this...so close to where they had been before the accident. "You know …..if you weren't so horny all the time I wouldn't have this problem. But the last thing I need right now is for you to roll over on me when I have a stiffy and have start bouncing around on top of me before you know what you're doing." He informed in a manner that was more true to his nature thna he had allowed himself to be for the past few days.

Cuddy looked back at him a bit surprised at first before a smile eased up onto her lip once more. "So it's really that good between us? Even after all these years?" She asked him curiously.

Getting lost in her smile, House let down his guard for a moment. His hand moving to her hip as he pulled her up against his body, hearing a soft gasp escape her lips as his eyes gazed down at her intently.

He then lowered his hand down to her ass, cupping it possessively before gently brushing the stubble of his jaw against her ear.

"What do you think?" He whispered to her in low drawl with their hips now pressed against each other as he took in the scent of her hair.

Cuddy felt her breath catch inside her throat. The wide span of his chest pressing into her combined with his hand now squeezing her ass causing every part of her to come alive in that moment and flooded with pure, unapologetic arousal.

Her nipples hardened in an instant. The butterflies inside of her stomach, lowering down deep into her pelvis and causing an ache between her thighs. Her body telling her without question that this kind of attention from him was something that had been _more than welcomed _in the past they shared together even if she could not recall the details of it at this point.

"I….I see your point." Cuddy responded back to House in a hushed voice, feeling so drawn to him in that moment as she tried her damndest to regain her composure.

"Good." House replied with small nod, wanting so badly to kiss her but removing his hand from where it had placed upon her instead, knowing that rushing into something physical with Lisa before she could remember what they had created together could come back to haunt them both when her memory finally returned.


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok guys here's a nice, long chatper for you. Again, b/c of another busy weekend I probably won't post the next chapter till Monday. Hope you enjoy..and let me know you're thoughts ;)**

**Chapter 16**

Back inside the kitchen of the home she had yet to remember, Cuddy sat at the table with her legs crossed at the ankles after eating lunch with her family while her Mother was busy loading the dishwasher with Bill and Jessica and Ryan had left the room suddenly. The two kids whispering to each other, and no doubt on their way to getting the 'surprise' for her that House had told her about up in the master bedroom.

Looking over at House, who was seated across the table from her, Cuddy absentmindedly chewed on her bottom lip. Remembering the experience of what had happened between them up in the master bedroom a few moments ago as his eyes studied her silently.

She had been drawn to him like a moth to the flame. Entranced by the heat between them that had caused her heart to race. However, the connection between them was much more than purely physical. She knew that now without a shadow of a doubt regardless of the bold move House had pulled on her a few moments ago by giving her ass a firm squeeze as he held her close to him. He had been far too cautious with her for this all to be based solely on sexual compatibility. Approaching her in a way she would have never thought possible. His actions, telling her that he was just as afraid of hurting himself as he was of hurting her. His heart clearly longing to find what they had lost right along with her.

Lost in her thoughts of him, Cuddy's eyes were now tracing the edges of House's lips surrounded by the stubble on his face when suddenly, the image of Jack Hall's face invaded her mind, pushing her other thoughts aside.

Why _was_ Jack Hall in her life right now? Why would he have come to visit her while she was in the hospital and hinted to her that the perfect life she was told she had found with House may not be as perfect as it seemed?

Was he placing doubt in her mind because of an ulterior motive? And if so...why?

It was as those string of questions emerged inside of her brain that Cuddy's thoughts suddenly took her quickly down a darker path……a path that left her heart racing.

What if _she _had changed? What if during the past 13 years of being married to House she had suddenly fallen out of love with him which had prompted her to jump at the chance to have Jack Hall back in her life once more?

_But Jack cheated on me? He humiliated me. Why would I want him back in my life? That's not who I am at all. _Cuddy argued inside of her brain as her gazed now turned inward and her eyes glassed over.

_You don't even know WHO you are. Who you have become in the past thirteen years. _Her brain whispered back to her with a haunting tone of doubt attached to it.

With those thoughts currently running through her mind, Cuddy had lost focus for a moment, realizing a second later as she took in a deep breath that House was now staring at her intently. No doubt wondering what she was thinking about.

They needed to talk. She _needed _to tell him about her conversation with Jack and all the confusion it had stirred up inside of her....even if she was still unclear of exactly why she had allowed her former fiancée to step back inside of the hospital again.

"Surprise!" Ryan and Jessica suddenly yelled in unison, standing before Cuddy with each of them holding a rather large box in their arms that had been wrapped in metallic sliver wrapping paper with two large white bows donning the tops of each of the boxes.

Startled back into the present, Cuddy quickly pushed the thoughts inside of her head into the back of her mind.

"The two of you didn't have to do this." She then said to her children softly with a small smile as Ruth and Bill gathered around the table to join the rest of the family.

"Here Mom, open mine first!" Ryan said with a grunt and a crooked grin as he lifted what appeared to be a very heavy box onto the table top in front of her.

Cuddy smiled over at the boy. "I can't wait to see what this is." She then told him with an anxious whisper just so the endearing grin would remain on his face before she carefully removed the bow on top of the box and placed it to the side, unwrapping the gift next and pulling the lid on the box open to expose what was hidden beneath it.

"Ryan, this...this is so beautiful." Cuddy exclaimed in a hushed whispered as she gazed down at the eight by twelve framed photograph of herself sitting in a rocking chair with a blonde headed infant held close to her chest who was sleeping soundly inside her arms.

"You always said you liked that picture of me the best because it was one of the few times you could get me to be quiet." Ryan informed his Mom softly as leaned into her and placed his arm around her neck.

"Thank you_ so much _Ryan." Cuddy replied, surprised when the boy bent down and kissed her on the lips.

"You're welcome, Mom." Ryan responded, getting lost in her eyes for a moment as they seemed to hold the same love for him as they always had.

"Oh.... and there's more pictures underneath that one of me and you." Ryan went on to explain, watching with excitement as his Mom placed the picture of them aside and picked up the first of several photo albums that had been tucked inside of the box.

"This is all so wonderful." Cuddy exclaimed as she looked up at the people surrounding her before she started to flip through the first photo album, being greeted by countless memories that stretched throughout the years.

"We thought looking at these pictures of us might help you remember." Ryan explained as he kept his eyes focused on his Mother's face.

Cuddy looked up at the boy. "This is such a thoughtful gift." She acknowledged as she moved her hand to his back and rubbed it gently.

"Mom, would you like to open my present now?" Jessica asked almost shyly from the other side of her, feeling her heart racing inside of her chest over how beautiful and happy her Mother looked right now.

"Of course I would." Cuddy replied with a smile, placing her arm around Jessica's waist and giving her a comforting squeeze that she knew the girl desperately needed.

"Ok." Jessica replied softly, placing her gift in front of her Mother.

Once again Cuddy went through the ritual of taking the bow off of the present before she unwrapped it. Finding, after opening the box another eight by twelve framed photograph of her and Jessica as a baby with piles of dark hair, sitting together in a large whirlpool tub.

Their modesty had been kept intact thanks to the mountain of bubbles surrounding them as the sweet little baby girl gave the camera holder, who Cuddy had no doubt had been House, a gum filled smile as she had placed a kiss on the crown of the baby's head.

"You always told me the first place I learned to swim was in the tub up in your bathroom." Jessica informed her mother softly as some melancholy tears started to well up in her eyes.

Knowing that the hormones of a teenage a girl can rise up swiftly like a raging tide, House spoke up quickly before they could take hold of his daughter. Wanting to spare her from experiencing anymore pain …at least for a little while.

"There's also something else underneath that photo as well." He said to his wife whose eyes connected with briefly with him once more, making his heart still in his chest for a moment at how truly beautiful she looked with the afternoon sun shining through the French doors behind her.

Cuddy gave House a small smile, placing the framed photo next to the one of her and Ryan and finding in doing so the rest of the box filled with several VCR tapes. Some of which were labeled in her own handwriting while others had more of a masculine stroke to them.

"Those are all the tapes from every birthday, holiday and pretty much any other day you or Bill had a camcorder in your hand." House explained to Cuddy as her fingers moved over the different titles on the tapes.

"Just be prepared to see some grumpiness from your husband now and then telling both of us to... _put down the damn camcorder_." Bill advised Lisa with a gentle smile as he stood across the table from her.

"Papa you swore!" Ryan immediately said with shock as he grey eyes grew wide.

"See and you all think I'm the bad one." House said immediately with a smartass grin, feeling the gaze of his wife upon him as she drank in every drop of the conversation occurring around them.

"That's because you usually are the bad one." Ruth countered with a wicked grin finding the moment so in tune with how they used to be it was almost as if the accident had never occurred as he heart wished more than anything that soon the pieces of Lisa's missing memory would return to her and make her whole again.

* * *

As the day wore on, Cuddy had found herself inside the living room of her home, surrounded by her family as she looked through several of the photo albums Ryan had given to her as all of them took their turns in recounting the events that had led to the photograph being taken in the first place.

By the time early evening had arrived however, Cuddy was fast becoming mentally spent for the day. The memories of the photographs that had taken years to accumulate in everyone else's mind, filling hers in an exhausting pace.

Seeing the weary expression that had gradually taken over her daughter's face until it filled it completely, Ruth turned to face her husband who was sitting on the arm of the chair she had occupied.

"Bill why don't we call it night for now so Lisa can get some rest." She said to him.

Bill nodded in agreement, "Sounds good to me honey." He replied, getting up off of the arm of the chair.

Cuddy closed the photo album spread across her lap, "You guys don't have to go." She said, even though she was indeed a tired from all that had transpired throughout the day thus far.

"Don't worry Lisa, your Mom and Bill will be back here before you know it. They seem to have the idea that we actually_ like _having them around." House informed his wife with a dry tone from the opposite end of the couch, receiving a swat in the arm from his mother-in-law that made his wife let out a delighted laugh.

It was good to hear her laugh like that again with her eyes shimmering and her mouth turned up into a smile that would always melt his heart.

* * *

It was a little after seven pm when Cuddy woke up in the master bedroom of the home she had no memory of, turning onto her side to look over at the clock and realizing she had been asleep for nearly two hours.

She also realized that the house was eerily quiet.

Sitting up in the bed it was then she noticed the note that had been placed on top of the pillow beside her.

Letting out a yawn, Cuddy reached for the piece of white paper that had been folded in half and opened it up, reading the words that had been scrolled across it in black ink.

_Lisa,_

_I took the kids out for awhile. There's dinner in the fridge for you if you're hungry._

_Oh and remember to thank your nosey Mother for the food later because she stopped back while you were asleep with enough Chicken Parmesan to feed an army. _

_Also check out the bathroom before you head downstairs._

_Be back soon. Call me on my cell if you need anything._

_Always,_

_Greg_

Cuddy read the note several times before placing it on the nightstand next to her, wondering if the word "always" was what they used instead of "love" or "love you" as most couples do when they write notes to each other.

One thing did know for sure though was House's note captured both his smartass side as well as the part of him that had always intrigued her. The part he had kept hidden from her for longer than she could remember.

"Always." Cuddy whispered out loud, pausing just outside of the bathroom when she realized how broad her smile had become when she had spoken the word...almost as if she knew more about the importance of the word than her mind was currently letting on.

Making her way into the bathroom, Cuddy's eyes suddenly grew wide with surprise as a soft gasp escaped her lips.

"Wow." She muttered, looking over at the large garden style tub that had been the same tub she had been seated inside of in the picture with Jessica, which had been surrounded by six crème colored candles along with a bottle of bubble bath, shampoo and conditioner.

Walking closer to the tub, Cuddy started to cry, wrapping her arms around her body as she stood alone inside the bathroom with echoing of her sobs bouncing gently off of the walls.

Gregory House loved her in a way that she never believed he_ ever could. _Leaving her body trembling from the desperate need to find her way back to the life and love she shared with him.

She stood there for another few minutes, letting the tears run down her face as she stared down into the tub. Frustrated with herself because of the loss of her memories….because of the loss of what they had been to each other.

_"Stop." _Cuddy whispered to herself sternly. Wiping the tears from her face before leaning down and turning on the faucets to the tub and testing the temperature of the water with her left hand.

Taking in a deep breath she pushed out the last shaky breath inside of her lungs. She was done feeling sorry for herself as the emotion was far too loathsome for her linger in any longer. Yes…..she was in a really shitty situation but ....considering the far more shitter situations other people around the world were in right now not being able to remember the family who _adored_ her was not the worst thing that could have happened to her.

Add to that the fact that as a doctor she did know the odds were more than stacked in her favor in regards to her memory returning to her…..maybe even as soon as tonight…or early tomorrow... and until then…

Until then she would try and comfort her children as best she could and show House that she appreciated everything that he was doing for her instead of crying her eyes out and wallowing in self pity.

With her mind made up, Cuddy let out a sigh and pulled the t-shirt she had been wearing up and off of her body as the water continued to drum into the tub below her.

Unbuttoning her jeans next and pushing them towards the floor while she thought about the sleeping arrangements House had informed her of earlier. His reasoning, even though it had been masked with his usual smart ass remarks, even more proof of how much he love her.

Once again, Cuddy's thoughts of House made her smile as she stripped out of the rest of her clothing while the idea that the man who had loved to comment on her ass and her boobs since way back in Michigan was suddenly was determined to protect her honor, was in fact quite amusing.

Shutting off the water, Cuddy paused before stepping into the tub, walking over to the bathroom vanity to get another look at the woman she had become over the years she had lost.

Seeing the now rapidly fading bruises on her face, Cuddy initial winced as her fingertips traced over her jaw. Her long dark hair thankfully combed in such a way that it covered the small, semi-bald spot where her stitches had been removed before she had been discharged from the hospital.

_It's only temporary, _She whispered to herself, thinking back to how House had seemed to look past the bruises when he made it clear to her that their desire for one another had maintained steady heat throughout the years.

Lowering her eyes away from the image of her face, Cuddy gazed down upon the rest of her body.

Her figure was still toned, trim and yet curvy in all the right places, despite of the fact that she had bore two children and was well over forty now.

Knowing herself as well as she did, she assumed that her workout regiment had remained a big part of her life along with juggling a marriage, her job and her two kids.

It was no wonder she enjoyed her bubble baths as much as she did….and with that thought now present inside of her head, Cuddy turned and walked up to the tub once more.

Stepping inside the hot, soothing water, Cuddy looked down at the wedding band and engagement ring on her finger. Deciding to take them off, she slid the white bands of gold free over her knuckle.

With a sudden curiosity rising up within her, Cuddy then looked inside the bands of both rings. Her eyes drawn immediately to the small, delicately scrawled writing inside of the wedding band which read simply…….

_ALWAYS_

* * *

Later that night House returned home with the Jessica and Ryan, finding Cuddy dressed grey yoga pants and a white tank top that was one of his favorites because of the way the outfit fit her like a second skin. Accenting the curves of her breasts in the best kind of way as the roundness of her gorgeous ass was in full display as well.

If she only knew how the simple casual attire took his breath away. Reminding how lucky he was to have someone as beautiful as her in his life.

"Hi guys." Cuddy said softly to House and the kids, getting up from the kitchen table and greeting them all with a smile before she reached for the empty plate in front of her, walking over to the dishwasher.

"Did you miss me Mama?" Ryan asked in a silly voice as he walked up beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Cuddy laughed, "Now that I know who you are ..yes...I did." She teased to the young boy while rinsing off her plate in the sink.

"Mom, I could have done that for you." Jessica offered as she also walked over to where Cuddy was standing.

"It's ok Jess…I have amnesia, not carpal tunnel." Cuddy joked once more before opening up the dishwasher and placing the dinner plate inside of it.

Seeing the awkward look that had come over Jessica's face, Cuddy furrowed her brow.

"What's wrong?" She asked her daughter.

Jessica hesitated for a moment. "It's just nice to hear you call me Jess….that's all." The girl confessed with a soft voice.

Cuddy gave her daughter a comforting smile. "Well..it just feels right for me to call you that." She replied.

"Dad, does this mean Mom is getting her memories back?" Ryan asked as he turned to face his Father.

House limped closer to them all. "Could be." He answered, not entirely dismissing his son's hopes, while making sure not too give too much validation to them at this point as well. Trying to keep them all on a very steady and balance approached when it came to Lisa's amnesia.

"Mom, since you've gotten some rest, maybe we could watch some of the tapes I gave you so you can try and remember us." Jessica suggested from where she had remained standing beside her Mother.

Cuddy turned her gaze over to her daughter, "I'd like that." She responded with a small smile.

* * *

For the next couple of hours, Cuddy sat on the couch inside living watching home movies of her family, with Ryan nestled in on her right side as he had reached for her arm and placed it around him while Jessica was seated on her left side, resting her head on House's shoulder as his fingers moved casually through the dark hair on the top of their daughter's head.

As the images of her family flashed by her on the TV screen Cuddy found herself becoming more and more amazed by them. Watching in awe as a five year old Ryan played the piano with a fever as he sang 'Get Rhythm' by Johnny Cash before her breath was taken away once more by the image of Jessica as a nine year old petite little girl climbing the high dive ladder before she walked to the end of board, lifting her body high into the air and descending into the pool of water below her with the grace of an angel.

It was also amidst the images of her children and the praise she was giving them that Cuddy was able to see for herself some small pieces of the relationship she shared with House as well. Glancing over at him as he sat on the other end of the couch from time to time when she noticed the way he would look back at her on the tapes as she held the camcorder in her hands. Holding back her smirk at some of the subtle innuendos he had thrown her way on the tapes, which of course had passed by her innocence children....often resulting in a sigh escaping from her lips that was caught by the microphone of the camcorder before a small laugh would escape her mouth.

It was another half hour later when Cuddy felt the weight of Ryan's head against her side. The boy apparently dozing off as the time on the grandfather clock announced the coming of ten o'clock.

"I think we should call it a night." Cuddy whispered over to House, watching as his eyes left the tv screen to look over at her.

House nodded. "Ok rugrats, time to hit the sack." He whispered to his children.

"But Dad…we're not even tired." Ryan began to protest. Awakened from his brief slumber by the sound of his Father's voice.

"Either bed now or.... an hour less Wii time tomorrow." House instructed, catching Cuddy smiling at him from the other end of the couch after his comment to their son.

"Fine." Ryan grunted as he got up off of the couch, letting out a loud yawn before leaning forward and kissing his Mom on her cheek. The boy then moved over to his Dad and kissed him as well, giving him a hug before he turned he headed upstairs, rubbing his eyes along the way as he let out another big yawn.

From beside her Father, Jessica got up from the couch as well.

"Goodnight Dad." She said softly as she leaned down to hug him and place a kiss upon his cheek.

"You ok?" House asked her as she pulled away from their embrace.

Jessica nodded, "I'm just a little tired." She told him before turning, leaning down and giving her Mother a hug.

"Goodnight Mom." She whispered just before kissing Cuddy's cheek as well.

"Goodnight Jess." Cuddy replied, looking deeply into her daughter's eyes where it seemed some of her worry had returned before Jessica turned and left the room.

* * *

"Mom?" Ryan asked from the doorway of the master bedroom a half hour later with the silver moon casting a soft light on the form of his Mother who was lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling.

"What is it Ryan?" Cuddy asked, turning on her side to face him as his voice had pulled her away from the thoughts inside of her head that were preventing her from falling asleep.

"Umm…. I was just thinking you might get lonely sleeping all by yourself. So…. I wondered if I could sleep with you and keep you company." Ryan offered with a somewhat shy, crooked smile.

Cuddy smiled back at him. "Come on." She said with a slight laugh, pulling the covers back for him so Ryan could climb inside of them.

A huge grin took over the boy's face as he ran and jumped onto the bed, snuggling up to his Mother in an instant as she pulled the comforter over his body.

"So do you always get what you want when it comes to me?" Cuddy asked her son with a smirk upon her face as he turned on his side to face her.

"Sometimes…but other times you tell me not to push my luck." Ryan informed her honestly as the fingers of his left hand found their way to the dark locks of her long hair that had cascaded over her shoulder.

Cuddy watched her son silently for a moment as he gently started to rub the ends of her hair betweeb his finger and thumb.

"Do you always like to play with my hair?" She asked him with a soft, curious tone.

Ryan nodded as he lifted his eyes to meet her gaze.

"Ever since I was a baby you told me I liked doing this to your hair. I think it's because your hair feels like the fur on those brown caterpillars out in the yard." Ryan told her with a shrug while trying to hide his smile from her.

"So you're saying I have caterpillar hair?" Cuddy asked him with a soft laugh watching as Ryan let out a soft and somewhat tired laugh of his own.

"Just teasing…you have the best hair Mom." The boy whispered back to her before he let out a yawn.

"I'm glad you think I have the best hair…even if it does feel like caterpillar hair." Cuddy whispered back to her son.

With his eyes now closing, a sleepy smile rose up on Ryan's face.

"You know Mom…you still know how to scratch my back. Just the way I like it….even if you still have your amnesia." Ryan mumbled to her as his eyes opened for a second before he was led off into his dreams.

Cuddy took in a breath, only realizing after Ryan had said something to that her hand had indeed moved underneath the pajama top he was wearing with her fingernails gently traveling up and down his spine in a slow and easy rhythm.

Lowering her head, Cuddy kissed her son on the left side of his temple as her hand continued its motions, feeling his breath upon her cheek as his small chest rose and fell with each beat of his heart.

* * *

"Dad?" Jessica said softly from the doorway of the guest bedroom, nearly an hour after Ryan had slipped into the master bedroom with their Mother.

"What is it Jess?" House asked as he turned on his side to face her. Unable to fall asleep thanks to the thoughts of Lisa currently running through his mind.

"Can I stay in here with you tonight?" She asked him shyly.

"You do realize there is a chance of you being the recipient of a Dutch oven if you sleep with me?" House informed her with small smirk.

Jessica wrinkled her nose. "I'll take my chances." She muttered, walking towards the edge of the bed before slipping under the covers beside him.

"So did what did Ethan have to say when you called him tonight?" House asked his daughter.

"Nothing really, he just asked how Mom was doing and if it would be ok for him to come over this weekend." Jessica replied before her face suddenly changed into one that was visibly upset.

Within the next second House watched as a tear rolled down his daughter's cheek and she took in a shuddered breath.

"Jess, what's wrong?" He questioned softly while moving his hand over to her shoulder.

"Nothing." Jessica mumbled turning onto her back and fixing her gaze onto the ceiling above them as she tried to stop the rest of the tears from falling down her face.

"Hey, look at me. If you're afraid about what's going on with your Mom…" House started to say.

"It's my fault." Jessica whispered up to the ceiling with an ache to her tone, not able to look her Father in the eyes as she felt the pang of guilt driving deep into her heart.

"What's your fault?" House asked her with confusion.

Jessica closed her eyes as a few more tears fell from each of them before turning to her head to face her Father.

"It's my fault that Mom got in the accident. I was arguing with her about getting my ear pierced and wouldn't let up when she told me no the first time. If I would have just let it go she probably would have noticed the truck coming towards us and would have had enough time to get out of the way." Jessica whispered as her voice cracked and her eyes filled with even more tears.

"Jess…it's not your fault." House told her as he pulled his daughter closer to him.

"Yes it is Dad. I'm always too stubborn for my own good!" Jessica argued back to him, shaking her head as her hands fripped onto his the material of his t-shirt.

House reached down and cupped his daughter's face with his hands, gently tilting her chin up so she would be looking at him once more.

"You may be too stubborn for your own good at times. But unless you suddenly had the power to make the driver of that truck run the stop sign....there is no way in _hell_ any of this is your fault." He told her in a direct tone as he gazed into the pair of eyes that were a dead on match for his own, feeling a tremendous ache piercing his heart as Jessica buried her face into chest and started to sob.

"Why did this have to happen to Mom? Why did this have to happen to us?" Jessica asked him, trembling with the grief that had taken hold of her with a fury.

"Shh…..it's going to be ok Jess. You hear me? We are all going to get through this together." House whispered into the side of his daughter's face as he held her close to him and kissed her cheek.

"I …I just wish I could have stopped it from happening Dad. I know that sounds stupid…..but that's how I feel." Jessica muttered as she lifted her faced from her Father's chest and looked up at him.

"If there's one thing your not…..it's stupid." House told his daughter softly, needing to hold onto her in that moment as much as she needed to be held by him.

* * *

It was nearly 3am when Cuddy had awakened from and dreamless sleep with her arm still around Ryan's body as he slept soundly beside her. His chest still rising and falling deeply as she leaned down and kissed his forehead before carefully slipping out of bed and heading downstairs.

Now seated on the couch inside the living room, Cuddy turn on the TV and lowered the volume as the tape she had placed inside of it began to play.

The tape was one of six or seven tapes that she had not seen before when viewing them with her family earlier. An immediate smile forming on her face as the camera focused in on a banner that read "Happy Birthday Bill" stretched across the large wooden beams of what appeared to be a tastefully decorated restaurant, with a small dance floor off to the left where several people were getting down to an old seventies song by KC and the Sunshine band as others were crowded around a well stocked bar to the right as several round tables in the center of the room were filled with more guests of the party, many of which she _was_ able to recognize.

"Ok, well the party has been going about an hour and people are finally starting to loosen up….as you can see." Wilson said on the tape as the camcorder focused in on the dance floor.

Tucking her knees underneath her, Cuddy let out a soft laugh as the image of her Mother, her Aunt Rachel and Aunt Sarah appeared on the screen.

The three sisters were laughing up a storm as they shook their behinds, receiving cat calls and whistles from both their husbands as well as several other men in crowd.

"_I'm your boogie man that's what I am_

_I'm here to do whatever I can_

_Be it early morning'…. late afternoon_

_Or at midnight it's never too soon"_

"And now please let me introduce you to the next generation of boogie fever kids. Who, I predict will become an item a few years from now." Wilson said with a small hint of amusement in his voice as the camera panned over to the corner of the dance floor where Jessica and Ethan where dancing with each other.

Cuddy watched the tape with another smile appearing on her face as Jessica and Ethan half danced and half flirted with each other.

"_I'm your boogie man….._

_I'm your boogie man_

_Turn me on!_

_I'm your boogie man …..I'm your boogie man_

_Do what you want"_

She guessed the party she was witnessing had to have occurred fairly recently as Jessica as well as Ethan appeared to be close to the age they were now. Her daughter smiling shyly up at the boy as she placed her hands on Ethan's chest after he had wrapped his arms around her, swaying her hips to the music and laughing with him as the good looking boy leaned down and whispered something into her ear.

"Uncle Wilson! Check this out!" Ryan said from out of the view of the camcorder before Wilson focused the lens down on him.

Standing before his uncle, Ryan was grinning from ear to ear as he stuck out his tongue and touched the tip of his nose with it.

"Hey…that's pretty good." Wilson commented from behind the camera.

"Wait! I wanna show you some other things!" Ryan informed him as the boy was just getting started.

Wilson laughed, "Ok …go ahead Ryan, the camera's all yours."

Ryan then proceeded to stick his tongue all they way out of his mouth and flick just the tip of it before pulling it halfway back into his mouth and forming three arches.

"How do you do that?" Wilson questioned with an impressed voice.

"I don't know …I just started standing in front of the mirror and doing it." Ryan answered with a laugh, while Cuddy, who was completely engrossed in the talent of her son displayed on the TV screen before her laughed along with him.

"Wait! I've got one more…it's called the wave." Ryan then said as he smiled again.

"Ok…go for it." Wilson coached with a soft chuckle.

With a nod Ryan opened his mouth up wider and started to roll his tongue just like the waves in the ocean.

"That is truly amazing." Wilson commented with another laugh, "and some day you are going to make some girl very …very happy." He added with a sly voice.

Ryan wrinkled his nose up at Wilson.

"So girls like tongue tricks?" The boy asked, of course not getting the 'true' meaning of what Wilson had said to him.

"Trust me Ryan ..they love them." Wilson assured the boy just as the song playing behind them ended and a classic Van Morrison tune with a swing beat started to play.

"_Well it's a marvelous night for a moondance_

_With the stars up above in your eyes_

_A fantabulous night to make romance 'neath the color of October skies."_

Still laughing Cuddy watched as Ryan and Wilson talked for a few more minutes before her son took of and ran over to where Jessica and Ethan were dancing, showing them his tongue tricks next.

"_And all the leaves on the trees are falling_

_To the sound of the breezes that blow_

_And I'm trying to please to the calling_

_Of your heartstrings that play soft and low."_

"Well it seems as usual during these parties….I'm missing both my best friend and his hot wife, slightly crazy wife. I wonder where those two might be." Wilson said with a sarcastic tone as the camera started to move across the room.

"_Can I just have one more moondance with you-my love?_

_Can I just make some more romance with you-my love?"_

"Oooooh..there you two are…" Wilson said with a lowered tone just as the image of House and Cuddy came into view on the TV screen.

Watching the tape, Cuddy leaned forward as Wilson adjusted the focus on the camcorder, zooming in on her and House as they were slightly hidden from view behind the tall coat rack in the far corner of the room.

Her back was up against the wall, her hands moving up House's chest as he smiled down at her with his hands holding onto her hips.

House was dressed in charcoal black suit with his tie long ago discarded and the first three buttons of white dress shirt open while she was wearing a dark red dress with a slit up the side and a plunging neckline.

"_Well I wanna make love to you tonight.....I can't wait till the morning has come_

_And I know now the time is just right.....and straight into my arms you will run."_

"Hmmm seems like someone's about to get a bit naughty." Wilson muttered under his breath with a small laugh.

With her eyes now glued to the screen, Cuddy bit down on her bottom lip, totally mesmerized by the interactions going on between her and House as he drew her body closer to him. Studying each of their faces as they spoke to each other and smiled. Watching the way her eyes lit up just before House leaned down and kissed her as her arms wrapped around his neck.

"_And every time I touch you, you just tremble inside_

_Can I just have one a' more Moondance with you, my love?_

_Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love?"_

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves." Wilson teased from behind the camera just as House and Cuddy's lips parted while their bodies softly swayed to the music as they held onto each other, staring into one another's eyes and speaking silently to each other the way lovers do.

Reaching for the remote, Cuddy paused the frame on the television, noticing only then how fast her heart was beating inside of her chest.

She took in a breath, and pressed the play button once more, so caught up in the magic on the screen she didn't notice the dull thump of cane as it descended down the stairs.

Within the next second on the tape, House leaned down and whispered something in her ear that made a small devious smile appear on her face as she nodded up at him.

"Uh oh…what are you to up to?" Wilson questioned with interest.

House then took her by the hand, leading her over to the back door of the restaurant before the two of them ducked outside.

"James, put down the camera and dance with me." Cindy suddenly requested from behind him as the camcorder was suddenly swung in her direction.

"Having an all night horror fest of Wilson's atrocious commentary?" House asked Cuddy, glancing over at the TV screen as he stood in the archway that led into the living room.

Surprised by his appearance, Cuddy jumped slightly. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" She asked him as she moved her feet out from underneath her, placing them back onto the floor.

House shook his head, walking over to the couch before sitting next to her. "No, I couldn't sleep. I guess I'm used to your ass keeping me warm at night." He told her dryly just as the tape playing on the television ended and a small breath silence entered into the room.

Cuddy drew in her bottom lip, pausing for a moment before asking the question that traveled swiftly into her mind after viewing the tape.

"Where did we go after we left the party?" She asked him softly, nodding her head over to the now black and silent TV screen.

House looked into her eyes for a moment before speaking. "We went out into your car and made love in the back seat." He told her in a low voice.

The air between them suddenly became thick and coated with the kind of emotions that talks of intimate acts often conjure up.

"Do we do that sort of thing a lot? Sneak off and have sex in random places?" Cuddy questioned to him as her heart started to pick up its pace and her eyes traced over every inch of his face.

"Every chance we get." House answered without hesitation, looking into her eyes as his mind warned him not to get in too deep with his wife who still had no memory of what the two of them had with each other.

Again Cuddy drew in her bottom lip before suddenly leaning forward and kissing House softly on the lips.

House was stunned for a moment, frozen in place with his mind racing over how wrong this could all go as he felt Cuddy's hand reach up and gently start to caress his jaw.

In an instant he leaned into her body. His arms wrapping around her waist as her tongue tentatively moved into his mouth and the heaviness of her breasts pressed into the span of chest.

His tongue was now sliding over hers as he continued to hold her close, not wanting to let go of her. Not wanting to release her from their embrace because of how much he had longed to have her in his arms like this again.

Feeling a shiver run down her spine from the passionate way House was kissing her, Cuddy let out a soft whimper, her mind spinning as she felt House's right hand moving up her back and getting tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck.

She started to tremble, gripping onto his shoulders and trying to steady herself from the dizziness in her head that head _nothing_ to do with her injuries and everything to do with him.

In an instant, House pulled away from her. Breathing hard as she looked back at him with confusion.

"We …we need to take this slow." He explained to her as his tried to slow the beating of his own heart.

"I'm sorry if what I did just now upset you." Cuddy apologized with a slight frown.

House moved his hand to her thigh. "You don't need to be sorry. We both just need to keep our hormones in check until you remember exactly why you like kissing me so much." He told her, giving her a small grin of reassurance that things were still ok between the two of them.

Cuddy smiled back at him for a moment before her face took on a more somber expression.

"There's something I need to tell you." She then said to him, deciding no matter what kind of woman she may have turned into during the past thirteen years….she needed to be honest with the man who was without a doubt deeply in love with her.

House remained silent, waiting for her to proceed.

"Jack Hall came to see me at the hospital the day I regained consciousness." She confessed, watched as House's jaw immediately clenched shut.

"What did Jack say to you?" House asked, feeling the raw anger inside of him threatening to come to the surface when he heard the son of bitch had approached his wife again.

"Jack told me that I hired him to install some type of software at the hospital…and then he..…" Cuddy started to say before pausing.

Was she making a mistake by telling him this? Was the perfect life she had with House not all that it seemed? Had there been truth to the words Jack had spoken to her when he insinuated some unresolved feelings she still had for him?

"Lisa….talk to me." House said to her in a low whisper while taking hold of her hand.

Cuddy held her breath for moment.

It was all too good to be true. The man sitting beside her more patient and gentle than she had ever witnessed before.

"Did you…did I....dud I ever do anything to make you doubt that I loved you?" She then asked while standing on the edge of the unknown cliff of her past.

"What?" House asked with utter confusion.

"Was there ever a time just before my accident when you thought something might be wrong with me? With us?" Cuddy pushed, not sure why a suddenly rush of tears had moved into her eyes.

"Listen to me, Lisa….I would _never_ doubt what we have together and whatever that son of a bitch told you was a lie." House said to her with a low, calm tone even though he was ready to explode at the way Jack Hall was trying to fuck with her mind.

Cuddy took in a deep breath, looking down at their hands, now clasped together and resting on her lap before her eyes rose and met his once more.

"Jack told me there was more on my mind than a business deal when I hired him. In fact the way he worded it made it seem as if I wanted to…." Cuddy went on to say.

"Jack is a lying bastard who's pissed off that you go the kind of life he never knew he wanted until he lost you." House interrupted, using everything he had inside of him to push his anger back until he could deal with it later.

"House…please don't anything stupid. I only told you about Jack because I didn't want there to be any secrets between us." Cuddy whispered over to him as she saw the anger rising up in his eyes.

House held onto their gaze, Cuddy's expression of concern the only thing that kept him from driving over to Jack Hall's hotel room right now and kicking the living shit out of him.

"You need to know that I would never lie to you about our life together and that you _are not _the kind of person who would ever give up on what we have together…no matter what." He stressed to her as his heart continued to beat faster inside of his chest.

"I think I know that." Cuddy responded back to him softly as she saw the panic set in his eyes, telling her that even the mere_ thought _of losing her would send him over the edge. Telling her that in his world, she was indeed the core that kept him together and moved with him through the days that had passed by them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone! Well, here's more of the story...btw we are getting close to the end. Hope you all enjoy it ;)**

**Chapter 17**

Two days later, Cuddy was no closer to getting her memory back as House entered into the IT department located on the first floor of the hospital, walking up to Jack Hall with a steady gait and intense look in his eyes as his cane thumped steadily beneath his feet.

Sitting down in front of a modular style desk, Jack had been so focused on the computer screen in front of him that he did not notice House's approach until the man grabbed him by the shirt, lifting him up from the chair with rough, forceful tug.

"Stay the _fuck _away from my wife!" House growled, his cane now discarded on the floor as his eyes blazed with anger.

"House, get the hell out of here!" Yelled the man that had been seated beside Jack, who was now standing behind both men.

"Kenny, give us a few minutes….ok?" Jack said to the man in calm tone, never once letting his eyes stray from House's intense glare.

Kenny eyed both men carefully, "Fine Jack, but if he's not out of here in ten minutes I'm calling security," the man warned before grabbing a stack of papers and leaving the room.

"You better think real hard about what you're going to next House, considering Lisa isn't here to bail you ass out of jam this time." Jack said in a cocky tone after the man had left.

House tightened his grip on Jack's shirt, backing him up against the tall, gray metal shelf that was filled with computer parts.

"If you think that my wife not being here is going to stop me picking up my cane and ramming it so far up your ass that you'll be tasting wood for the next few weeks, you're wrong." House yelled back, not backing down an inch.

Jack shoved House away from him. A condescending smile appearing on his face. "You really need to get a grip House and realize that the only thing I'm interested in is getting my software up and running inside of this hospital and nothing more." He responded with a gleam of confidence residing in his cool green eyes.

House took a step towards the man. "We both know what you're trying to do and when Lisa finally does get her memory back..even she won't stop me from booting your ass out of here along with your crappy software." He countered, through gritted teeth before turning, picking up his cane and leaving the room.

Although he would have liked nothing better than to knock Jack's teeth down his throat just now, House's conversation with the scumbag had just revealed something very important to him. The man was as desperate as he was confident....... now he he just had to figure out if that desperation was indeed because of Jack's need to rekindle the old flame he had with Lisa or because of computer software installation that was days away from being completed.

* * *

"You think Jack may be doing something shady at the hospital?" Cuddy asked House, talking to him on her cell phone from inside of their home where she had remained behind as her husband had returned to work.

"I'd bet a pair of your lace panties on it." House assured her as he stood inside of Wilson's office, with his best friend sitting behind his desk and having already been filled in on the situation by House before he had called Cuddy.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid." Cuddy responded chewing on her bottom lip as Ryan walked into the kitchen where she was standing.

"You taking to Dad?" The boy asked.

Cuddy nodded.

"Tell him that if he ends up doing something stupid you're gonna make sure you double his clinic hours. That usually works." Ryan told her matter-of-factly before heading for the refrigerator, opening up the door and grabbing a small bottle of chocolate milk.

At hearing what his son had said, a grimace appeared on House's face as the sound of Cuddy's laughter moved into his ear.

"Lisa darling, I just thought you may want to know that chocolate milk is a luxury in our house that can only be consumed once our children have finished their homework." House told his wife with a clever grin.

"How did you know Ryan was getting chocolate milk?" Cuddy questioned, looking over a her son, who, at that moment, had an expression on his face much like a deer caught in the headlights of car.

"Think about Lisa, what son of mine wouldn't try to use your amnesia to his benefit from time to time no matter how sweet and innocence he may appear." House prompted to her.

Cuddy kept her eyes fixed on the nine year old boy who was now giving her a crooked smile.

"Did you finish your homework?" She asked him with interest.

Immediately the boys eyes darted to the floor. "No." He mumbled.

"Then I guess the chocolate milk with have to wait until you do." Cuddy replied, walking up to him and plucking the bottle out Ryan's hand before placing the milk back into the fridge.

_Never mess wtih the Master kid, _House thought to himself with a small smile, chuckling softly over the phone and imagining the smile that was stretched across Cuddy's face just now.

* * *

"I think I'm going to go back to work tomorrow." Cuddy informed House, later that night after the kids had gone to bed and as they sat next to each other on the king sized bed inside of the master bedroom.

"You can't even remember how to get to work let alone what to do when you get there." House commented over to her, not wanting her anywhere near where Jack Hall was going to be.

Cuddy rolled her eyes at him. "I'm impressed by your chivalry but regardless of my amnesia if something less than kosher is going at the hospital, I need to be there." She insisted.

House looked over at her for a few seconds before speaking. "And what about Jack?" He asked her, softening his tone a bit.

"I can handle Jack." Cuddy assured him with an earnest look in her eyes.

House nodded, "Ok." He agreed as his eyes looked intently into hers.

He wasn't going to fight her on this. Even if he didn't like the idea, because of the glaring fact the woman that he had fallen in love with was exactly the same determined woman sitting up in the bed beside him. The one that had survived the brutal assault of a madman named Jeff Hansom, the woman who never gave up on him, the woman who would face anything life woudl throw her way with all of the integrity and strength of forged steel.

"It's late. I should let you get some rest." House added a second later after the pause between them.

"Stay." Cuddy whispered to from behind him just as he has started to get out of the bed.

House turned to face her. "We've talked about this before…" He started to say as he eyes once more set upon her face.

"_No_…..you've told me why_ you _didn't want to sleep in the same bed with me, but you've never once asked me how I felt about it" Cuddy informed him as she set her jaw.

"I don't want to do anything to happen between us that you might not be ok with once you get your memory back." House stressed in a whisper as his eyes remained focused on her face.

" I'm not asking you to have sex with me. I just want you to sleep in the same bed as me." Cuddy replied, finding the need to have him close to her like this growing with each passing day.

House let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, but remember …..no funny business under the covers." He muttered, maneuvering himself beneath the sheets Cuddy was already under before reaching for the light on his side of the bed and shutting it off.

As he turned to rest on his back, his was greeted with a soft kiss and the feel of Cuddy's hand caressing his cheek.

"Goodnight." Cuddy whispered down to him while placing her hand upon his chest.

"Goodnight." House whispered back to her with a hushed surprise as she settled down on her side of the bed.

"And by they way." He added, watching the surprise move over her face as he pulled her closer to him until her head rested on his right shoulder." I like having you next to me when we go to sleep." He finished as his hand slid down to her lower back.

Cuddy bit down on her bottom lip and smiled."What else do you like about me?" She questioned to him with her head resting on his shoulder as her hand started moving slowing up and down on his chest.

"You mean besides the fact that you still look smoking hot in a bikini?" House asked with a sly smile, starting to caress her lower back.

"Besides that." Cuddy responded with a soft laugh, looking up at him.

"I like they way you smile at our kid. I like that I can still make you blush even after all of these years. I like how sexy you look when you're pissed off at me because I know sooner or later I'm going to have you alone and make you forget what you were even made about." He started to tell her as their eyes stayed connected to on another.

"You really need to stop or I am going to ask you to have sex with me." Cuddy interuppted with a sweet, apprecaitive smile.

"Then go to sleep and quit asking me questions." House replied with a smirk, watching as once more Cuddy leaned towards him, kissing him softly on the lips.

"I said sleep _not sex_." He joked softly to keep from getting lost in her amazing eyes.

"Tease." Cuddy responded with another smile before resting her head upon his shoulder once more.

It was only a few minutes later, that Cuddy had drifted off to sleep, her breathing, slow and steady as the fingers of her hand had fanned out over House's heart.

Feeling the rise and fall of her chest against him, House kissed the top of her head.

"You're almost there. Just come back to me the rest of the way ok?" He whispered into the softness of her dark hair before closing his eyes and wrapped his arm around her waist until he too drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day, House and Cuddy headed off to work together with plans of Cindy Wilson filling Cuddy in on what her priorities had been before the accident in order to start to pulling her back into her daily grind.

Once they had arrived at Cuddy's office House locked the door behind them, placing a hand on her hip as she stepped closer to him.

They had been doing this a lot lately. Touching each other that is …..and it seemed to really help her stay grounded…and hopefully it was also another small nudge to her brain towards the memories it had misplaced.

"Just remember don't try overdoing it on your first day." House instructed as he looked down at her.

"Yes doctor." Cuddy replied back to him with a smile as she patted his chest wiht her left hand.

House leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.....even though his mind told him he shouldn't. But the way she had responded to him jsut now had been so achingly familiar. Like the accident had never happened as she stood before him with all the grace, wit and beauty any man would be proud to call his own.

"Are you ok?" Cuddy asked him after their lips had parted and she noticed the worry lines appearing on his face.

House nodded. "I better get to work now before my boss chews me out." He told her, faking a grin that hid all of the concerns he had underneath it.

* * *

It was close to three pm when Jack Hall walked into Lisa Cuddy's office. Finding her as she often was, gazing at the computer screen in front of her.

"So the rumors are true. You just couldn't keep yourself away from this place." Jack said smoothing with a easy smile upon his face as he walked up to Cuddy's desk, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of it.

Cuddy lifted her eyes from the computer screen after trying to figure out the latest verison of Windows with was light years away from what what she remembered, studying the man seated before her carefully.

"Why are you trying to break up my marriage?" She asked him frankly as the tension of being at a hospital where she no longer felt she had a firm girp on moved into her words.

Jack studied her gaze. Obviously, she and House had talked. Which was exactly what he had wanted them to do.

"Lisa, I'm not trying to break up your marriage." He told her in a honest voice.

"Really? Then why did you_ imply _that I may have had some unresolved feelings towards you when you stopped by my hospital room?" Cuddy questioned as her palms pressed into the wood grain of her desk.

Jack leaned forward in his chair. "Lisa, you know me." He started to say before pausing."And when have I ever _not _told you something just because I thought you may not want to hear it? When we were together you respected the fact that I held no punches with you and.... since there's no easy way to say this, I'm just going to tell it to you straight. "Jack continued on before taking a deep breath.

"Lisa, just before the accident, you _told me _that you were still attracted to me and that working together with me again had brought out those feelings inside of you." Jack said in a voice that was certainly convincing enough to turn a lie into the truth.

"I don't believe you." Cuddy whispered as one of her shapely legs began to tremble underneath her desk and her head started to throb.

Jack kept his gaze locked onto hers.

"Lisa, please be honest with yourself. We both know the only way you'd allow me to work back here is if you still had feelings for me. I'm not saying we would have acted on those feelings. I'm just saying they are there and I can't help but wonder why considering how everyone around you is saying how perfect your life with House is. I'm not trying to cause trouble or hurt you…but the fact is I respect you too much to lie to you." Jack told her as he heaped even more bullshit on top of his original comment to her. Now betting everything on the fact that even if Lisa did regain her memories, the day of the accident would be lost inside of her mind forever.

"Jack, get out of my office." Cuddy said in a direct tone with her head pounding as her world felt as if it was spinning out of control.

Jack nodded, getting up from the chair. "I know you're upset by all of this Lisa and I actually thought about not telling you at all. But ….I made my mind up a long time ago never to lie you again like I did when we were together and if you want to talk to me after you've had time to think about what I've said, call me." He told her in a sincere voice before turning and leaving the room.

Cuddy waited until after Jack had left her office before she released the breath she had been holding inside of her lungs as her body trembled.

She had felt something just now when Jack had been here inside of her office, causing her heart to race and followed by the throbbing in her head. A strong reaction for a man she had not seen in over a decade while the reason for it remained lost in the gaping chasm where her memories _used _to be.

* * *

It was an hour later when House had found Cuddy inside their car, located on the third story of the parking garage.

Her eyes were closed as she sat in the driver's seat with her hands gripping onto the steering wheel.

"Why didn't you call me after Jack left your office?" House asked his wife with a worried tone as he entered into the car and Cuddy opened up her eyes.

Cuddy turned to face him, her face blank, and drained of any expression. Her thoughts making her weary.

"What if I never get my memory back?" She asked him in a hushed whisper, almost afraid to speak of the future she feared most of all.

"What did Jack say to you?" House asked with his eyes studying her face intently.

Cuddy took in a deep breath. "He told me that just before my accident I told him that I still had feelings for him." She reluctantly whispered.

"And you believe him?" House asked feeling a sharp pain digging deep into his heart.

"I don't know. I don't know what to believe anymore. I can't stand the fact that I can't _remember _what I may have said to him! Or that I can't remember our children when they were growing inside of me! Or us, like we used to be before the accident happened and took everything away from me!" Cuddy replied in steady stream of words, swallowing hard in response to the tightness that had crept up into her throat.

"Nothing's been taken away from you," House started to say, leaning towards her as he caressed the side of her head with his fingertips where the healed incision on her skull was located and currently covered by her dark hair. "It's all still in there Lisa…its just a matter of time before your brain resets and finds it." He reasoned with her a moment later, finding it painful to look at her right now.

Cuddy leaned back from his touch in an instant, acting as if he had just struck her across the face.

"Now you're the one who's lying, because the House I know would _never _brush aside other possibilities no matter how rare and out of the ordinary they might be. You don't want to admit that I might never get my memory back because you don't know how you'll deal with it if I don't." She argued back to him as every worst case scenario about their situation ran swiftly through her head.

House kept his gaze upon her. He should have expected this. That sooner or later a vein of doubt would start to pulsing inside of her mind as the days had passed by and her memories continued to allude her.

Looking deep into her cool grey eyes, House moved his hand over to her thigh.

"No matter what happens…. I would never leave you." He told her solemnly as a single tear ran down Cuddy's cheek.

"I'm not talking about you leaving me. I'm talking about me leaving you." Cuddy whispered, feeling her heart breaking in two as the man sitting beside had been left devastated by her words.


	18. Chapter 18

**Once again guys thanks for the great reviews! And yes, we are on another roller coaster, so hold tight and enjoy the ride ;)**

**Chapter 18**

"Lisa, I know you're upset…but please…..you can't be making any rash decisions right now." Ruth said with earnest while standing inside the kitchen of her home after her daughter had come by unannounced a few minutes ago, telling her of her desire to move out of the home she shared with her family.

Thankfully, Jessica and Ryan were over at the Wilson's place right now instead of here like they usually were after school. Having been picked up by Cindy today as the plan had been for all of them to get together later for a cookout over at the Wilson's once Lisa and Greg were done with work and had a chance to go home and change.

"What if I never remember any of them, Mom? What if what I had with House is never the same for us? I don't want him only to have the memories of how we _used_ to be, not to mention what effect my amnesia could have on Jessica and Ryan if it continues. It breaks my heart every time they smile at me, hoping that I'll at least remember _something _about them. I don't want my children to think of me as a stranger in their lives….they deserve so much more than that." Cuddy blurted out, clenching her jaw afterwards as she held back her tears.

Ruth reached for her daughter's hand. "_You are not_ a stranger to Jessica and Ryan. You are their_ Mother _and you are also the wife of a man who would love you no matter what." She assured her daughter in a tone that was strong and filled with conviction.

Cuddy looked down at their hands for a moment, before raising her eyes towards her Mother's gaze once more.

"I just feel so lost right now, Mom. I feel like everything is spinning out of control and I'm helpless to stop it." Cuddy whispered just as the sliding glass doors behind them opened and House stepped inside of the kitchen, followed closely by Bill.

The two men had been out in the backyard after House had refused to get out of their car in the parking garage when Cuddy had told him where she had intended on going.

Swallowing hard Cuddy cleared her throat, directing her gaze towards House as she spoke. "I'm sorry for what I said to you out in the car earlier. I just don't want…." Cuddy started to say, apologizing to him while Bill closed the door behind them both.

"No matter what you say to me, there's no way in hell your idea of leaving me and our kids is going to come across as anything more than you running away from us because you've suddenly lost whatever trust you may have had in me." House told her with a haunting expression as his voice was edged with hurt that had burrowed deep inside of his heart.

"I just don't want you to have to settle for the person I am now if it turns out I never end up remembering what we had together." Cuddy tried to explain as he took a step towards her with an intense look in his eyes.

"Being with you would _never_ be settling." House stressed to her in no uncertain terms.

Cuddy felt a tear roll down her cheek, it had all turned so bad so quickly. Her mind spinning out of control from the lack of control she was feeling. Her head still pounding after her encounter with, Jack. Her heart still tortured with the fact that the man standing before her, whose expression showed a depth of love she had given up on finding a long time ago was still million miles away from her because of the lost canyon of memories between them. The feeling literally tearing her apart.

"I'm sorry….I'm so sorry…" Cuddy started to whisper as her mouth watered with the nausea now consuming every part of her.

From behind them both, Bill took a step towards the couple. "I can't let this go on any further. I can't let the two of you be torn apart by all of this." He said suddenly as his jaw clenched with determination.

"I don't think any of us is enjoying this right now, Bill." House commented back to his father-in-law in an exhausted voice, feeling drained and hollow at the moment after the words Lisa had said to him earlier.

Undaunted Bill continued. "Listen to me, both of you." He stressed in the tone of an angered patriarch that none of them had ever heard him use before..including Ruth.

"The two of you are going to go up to the cabin this weekend in order try and get past all of this hurt and misunderstanding before it rips you apart." Bill ordered more than stated as his heart was racing from the rumble in his family that would surely turn into an earthquake if not dealt with quickly and with great care.

"Bill I know what you're trying to do….." Cuddy started to say before the older physician interrupted her.

"Lisa, I am not taking no for answer on this from either one of you…." Bill he informed her, stepped closer to both House and Cuddy and giving them both a look that showed just how serious he was.

"All this time you and Greg have both been resigned to the idea that getting you back into your normal routine was what would help you to regain your memory, but after seeing the two of you just now it's now pretty obvious to me that you desperately need to spend time alone with each other. You need to get from us, from your kids and for that matter any of the other responsibilities and distractions in your lives and concentrate on _one thing_…..each other. Now I'm not saying that by doing this you're suddenly going to recover from your amnesia, but I do believe not doing this is only going to cause both of you more heartache than I care to witness." Bill finished as both Cuddy and House, along with Ruth stood silently by him, listening to the words he was speaking to them as the gentle man with the comforting smile expressed just how worried he was over the two people he knew had suffered enough in their past to last a lifetime.

* * *

"Why do you have to go?" Ryan asked as his Dad as he stood in the backyard of Wilson's home, looking up at House as he and Cuddy stood side be side.

"I just need some time alone with your, Mom to try and help her get better. Besides, it's only for the weekend and we'll be back here before you know it." House told his son gently while seeing the tears already rimming the boy's eyes.

"Mom?" Ryan questioned as he switched his gaze over to her.

"What is it Ryan?" Cuddy asked softly, hating that fact that she was the cause of her son's pain right now.

"Can I have a hug?" The boy whispered up to her in a strained voice.

"Of course you can." Cuddy responded, immediately bending down and taking her son into her arms.

"Promise to come back ok?" Ryan whispered into her hair as he held onto her tightly, feeling the beat of her heart against his chest.

"I promise." Cuddy assured him as her mouth suddenly went dry and her heart began to ache.

"Ryan….I promise…ok?" She repeated as she pulled away from him so he could see the sincere expression upon on her face.

"Dad, are you sure you guys really have to go? We could just stay here at Uncle Wilson's while the two of you have time alone at our place." Jessica suggested sadly, standing along side her little brother with her hand now resting upon Ryan's shoulder after Cuddy has stood up from him.

"Jess, you know if we stayed here sooner or later one of us would end up coming over here for you guys. Your Mom and I just need some time together to sort out some stuff that will make things better for all of us. Understand?" House explained softly to his daughter.

Jessica drew in her bottom lip and nodded.

"I understand." She said in a hushed voice before taking as step towards her mother and pulling her into an embrace.

"I love you, Mom…don't forget that ok?" Jessica whispered as she held onto Cuddy just as tightly as Ryan had only moments before.

"I won't." Cuddy replied with her heart continuing to ache for all that her daughter was going through.

"We better get going if we're going to make it up to the cabin before dark." House then announced from beside them both, needing to separate from his kids in order to spare them anymore pain.

Cuddy nodded in agreement just as Jessica turned away from her and moved quickly into her Father's arms.

"I love you Dad, and don't worry about me and Ryan, we'll both be fine." Jessica whispered, putting on a brave front her parents even though her heart was breaking.

* * *

It was on a lonely stretch of black macadam, just below the base of looming, tall mountain that House had pulled off into a small gas station after Cuddy had told him of her need to use a bathroom.

They had barely spoken to each other after they had said their goodbyes to their children and talked with Wilson and Cindy briefly who assured them their kids would be in good hands while they were away.

Deciding to fill up the tank while they were stopped, House reached for the nozzle on the pump and watched as Cuddy went inside and talked to the attendant. No doubt asking the man where she would find the restroom before she turned and started to walk down one of the aisles.

Turning his gaze out towards a bright orange sun that was sinking fast into sea of pink clouds just above the horizon, House felt the chill of a memory brush past him. The reminder of a time when he and Lisa had headed out from Princeton on their way to another place deep within the mountains, running through his brain at that moment. The trip had been unplanned, much like this one had been as a madman had hunted them down..... with only the worst of intentions in mind for them both.

* * *

Standing inside the small and dingy bathroom of the gas station, Cuddy looked into the mirror before her as the harsh blinking fluorescent light in the room hummed above her.

She felt horrible, and looked just as bad. Her mind completely off center with a dull, throbbing headache running through her brain that had only eased up slightly from what it had been during her conversation with Jack.

Unzipping the purse that was slung across her shoulder, Cuddy felt inside of the bag. Her fingers quickly finding the small bottle of Tylenol she had tucked inside of it after her fist encounter with Jack had occured.

Twisting the cap of the bottle and shaking out two pills, Cuddy then popped them into her mouth before closing the bottle back up and putting the medication inside of her purse once more.

Turning on the facet she then cupped her hand underneath the stream of cold water before leaning down and taking the small gulp of the cool water into her mouth to help and wash the pills down her throat.

* * *

With the click from the pump alerting him that the tank was full, House moved his eyes away from the disappearing sun, pulling the nozzle free from the SUV and turning to place it back into its holder, finding Cuddy standing before him as he did so.

"I though you might be thirsty." She said softly, gesturing to him with one of the two bottles of water she had purchased inside gas station as he placed the pump back into it holder.

"Thanks." House replied, taking the bottle from her with his fingers running over hers as they made the exchange.

She seemed nervous again.....that look in her eyes telling him that something was still simmering within her, just below the surface. That unknown _'something'_ currently scaring the hell out of him.

Before he could question her however, Cuddy slipped by him, opening up the passenger door of the SUV which they had switched out for the car he had driven them to work in today as they had stopped by the house to pack for the weekend.

A few minutes more silent mintues on the road, Cuddy placed her hand upon House's arm, giving it a gentle, but urgent squeeze.

"Pull over." She requested of him softly, her eyes still holding the nervousness deep within them.

House took in a silent breath and did as she requested, pulling the SUV along the shoulder of the two lane highway.

"I've been experiencing headaches." Cuddy confessed to him, immediately seeing the concern rise up in his eyes as he placed the vechicle into park.

"How often have you been having headaches?" House questioned as his body was now turned to face her and the low hum of the radio played on in front of them.

"Twice. I don't think its anything serious ..but.." Cuddy started to say before she hesitated.

"Lisa, please...talk to me." House said her, never willing to give up on them…never willing to give up on her.

Again Cuddy took in a breath. "The headaches I've been having only seem to happen when I've been around Jack…" She started to explain as a tremble ran through her voice. "I….I don't think there's a medical reason for them. I think its more of an emotional reaction." She continued with her eyes never leaving House's face even though she was finding it hard to look at him right now.

"I told you before there's no way you would ever do anything that would jeopardize our marriage." House told her without hesitation, his tone remaining soft but also firm with its conviction.

Cuddy nodded her head, "I know that…I just….." She paused once more, however this time House's face changed immediately to a haunting expression as he realized what she was about to say to him.

"You're afraid that Jack may have done something to you. Something that's causing to have headaches whenever he's around you." House stated as his anger began to bubble to the surface from deep within him.

_If the son of bitch even so much had laid one finger on her, he was a dead man._

"House please, I know this is upsetting for you and that's why I didn't say anything the first time it happened, but after Jack came to my office today it felt as if someone was driving a nail through my skull. I don't know how to deal with this…. I don't know how to make sense of it when I have no memories to even try and understand why I'm having these headaches whenever Jack is around me." Cuddy whispered as her voice cracked and the anxiety within her began to grow.

House gently moved his hand to the side of her face. "From here on out, not matter what, you have to trust me. You have to believe me when I tell you that no matter what is happening with you….. we will get through this together. Understand?" House told her as the worry continued to fill in the pools of her cool grey eyes.

Cuddy took in a breath through her nose, nodding slightly and closing her eyes to keep from crying as House leaned towards her, gently kissing her cheek before his mouth moved down to her mouth, giving her a soft kiss as his thumb caressed her cheek.

"Just trust me, Lisa." House whispered into her ear, feeling her arm wrap around his neck as she trembled against him.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Princeton, Jack Hall was sitting at the bar inside of the hotel he was staying in. A fresh drink in his hand that the bartender had given to him only a few seconds ago as he mulled over the events that had happened in his life earlier in the day.

He wondered for a moment if he had overplayed his hand with Lisa, but the doubt was quickly cast aside by his confidence in his methods. Which, no doubt, had left her confused once more as well as leaving her struggling with her emotions, judging by the look on her face when he had left her alone inside of her office.

Taking a sip of his drink, Jack felt the bite of the whiskey on the back of his tongue.

Yes, if things worked out for him like he had planned, right now House and Lisa would be more concerned with his actions towards her and less concerned about the software he had almost finished installing on the hospital's computer system…..and that was _exactly _where he wanted them both to be. Both of them consumed with her amnesia and whatever may have occurred between him and Lisa, which would leave both of them breathing a sigh a relief a few days from now when he finally completed the installation and told Lisa he was leaving.

It was all so perfect. The setup and the getaway. The assurance that his deal with Lisa would be fulfilled and his company richer in process.

Of course, there was also another angle to all of this. One in which Lisa could indeed become so upset over her lingering amnesia that she may end up calling him just like he had asked her to do when they had spoken inside of her office.

Thinking about the scenario now, a small smile crept up upon Jack's face. There were so many delicious ways he could play that. Ways that may end up with him staying on longer in Princeton than he had planned. Ways that may even lead to him being back between the warm thighs of a woman who he had never truly gotten over.


	19. Chapter 19

**I can't believe it! I actually got this chapter done! Ok, enjoy peeps and let me know your thoughts ;)**

**Chapter 19**

"Give me a minute and I'll start a fire." House said to Cuddy as they entered into the living room of the cabin while the chill inside of the late September night was felt by both of them.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Cuddy asked, rubbing her arms to warm herself as House placed his cane against the couch and limped over to the fireplace.

"You could unwrap this for me while I put some wood in the fireplace." House told her, bending over and picking up the small rectangular package that contained about ten or so fire starter bricks from the wrought iron basket they had been placed in.

Cuddy nodded and took the package from him, tearing the yellow and red wrapper off of brick as House gingerly got down on one knee, reaching to his left to where a stack of firewood had been placed by the hearth.

"Is your leg ok?" Cuddy asked him with concern when she had noticed him wince.

"I'm alright, ir'a just that sometimes the cold makes my thigh act up a bit." He told her honestly, giving Cuddy a brief glance before starting to carefully arrange a few pieces of wood inside the fireplace.

"Do you still take vicodin?" Cuddy asked him, causing House to look at her once more. Sure, she hadn't actually _seen _him taking any vicodin in front of her, but…that didn't mean he wasn't, and since they were going to be alone for the next couple of days to try and sort out the mess they were currently in, she needed to start getting some answers for the questions that had been in circulation inside of her head for some time now.

House paused after placing another piece of wood in the hearth, remaining silent for the moment while taking the fire starter brick from her hands and snapping off a small piece of it.

He then carefully placed the piece in the center of the small teepee like pile of wood he had just finished stacking. "I slowly began weaning myself off of vicodin just before Jess was born." House told her, keeping his eyes focused on  
Cuddy's before glancing down once more and picking up the small, long box to his right containing several long stick matches that were designed exclusively for lighting the kindling inside the fireplace.

Cuddy watched silently for a moment as House pulled out one of the long matches, striking the red tip of it on the side of the box before he leaned forward and lit both ends of the fire starter stick that was resting underneath the small pile of wood.

"That had to be hard for you." She said softy as second later as she watched the flicker of a few tiny flames start to spread from the starter brick, over to the seasoned wood.

"Not as hard as having to explain to our daughter why Daddy is shoving pills down his throat every couple of hours." House responded back to her, closing the box of matches and tossing them into the wrought iron basket before standing up next to her once more.

"Having a daughter really changed you." Cuddy stated as the smell of the fire rose up into the air around them.

"No." House told her. "Having you really changed me." He corrected as he watched the surprise move up into her eyes. She wasn't used to him saying things like that to her, and to be truthful, if they hadn't had been in the situation they were in now, he wouldn't_ need_ to say these type of things to her because she always knew how much he needed her without him uttering a word.

"Are you hungry?" House asked Cuddy with his next breath before she could response to him. Worried, that saying too much to her in regards to his feelings for her at this point may end up making her even more fearful that she would never find her way back to where they had been before the accident.

"Actually I'm starving." Cuddy confessed as she kept her eyes focusing on him.

* * *

"You're going to have to talk to me sometime." Ethan whispered over to Jess as they sat side by side on a small wicker loveseat with plum colored cushions that had been placed there by him and his father as soon as the spring weather had made itself known to the Wilson household.

Now however, there was no doubt autumn was here to stay. The cool night air making the tip of Ethan's nose a little numb as he looked over at Jess who was staring blankly out in front of them both.

She had been like this ever since her parents had left. Blank, vacant and lifeless. Like a light within her had been snuffed out.

"Talk to me Jess." Ethan pleaded in another whisper just as she shivered beside him.

His hand moved to touch her arm, her soft skin cold as granite as her short sleeved t-shirt she was wearing was doing very little to keep her warm.

"Here Jess, take my jacket…" Ethan started to offer to her before her head snapped over in his direction.

"Just leave me alone, Ethan! I don't want your jacket and I don't need you annoying me right now!' Jessica hissed with a heated whisper.

She then abruptly got up from the wicker furniture, intent on walking as fast as she could through his backyard and towards the street a few feet away from them that was illuminated by the lamp above it. Determined to walk even further away from him after that until she was utterly alone. That was..... until Ethan grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him, gently spinning her around to face him.

"I know it hurts." Ethan told her softly with his pale blue eyes conveying every second of every day he had been worried sick about her since the accident had occurred.

Jessica took in a sharp breath, finding herself shaking as Ethan pulled her closer to him.

"No…Ethan don't...I." She protested, failing miserably at pushing him away because the tears that were falling down her face right now were clouding her vision.

"Remember when my grandma died last year and I cried in front of you?" Ethan asked her, pulling her closer to him and feeling her cold arms snake inside the open jacket he was wearing.

Jessica placed her forehead onto his chest and nodded, unable to speak as her tears and the tightness in her throat had temporally left her mute.

"I wanted to be alone then too. I wanted to just run as fast as I could until it would stop hurting, but you wouldn't let me. You kept on making me talk until I started crying because you knew I needed to talk about it. So.... there's now way I'm letting you off this easy." Ethan reminded her in a soft whisper as Jessica titled her head to look up at him.

"But I'm already crying." She protested with a half smile that he had somehow managed to bring out from her as the moonlight reflected the trail of tears that had rolled down her face.

"I guess you better start talking then." Ethan informed her, keeping her close to him so she was sure to be safe and warm inside of his arms.

* * *

Meanwhile down in the basement, Wilson, Ryan and Cindy were sitting on the couch in front of a large flat screen TV taking turns playing Super Mario Brothers.

"Boy Uncle Wilson, you really stink at this game." Ryan said with a chuckle after watching his uncle bite the dust, thereby allowing him another turn at the game.

"Tell me something I don't know." Wilson grumbled with defeat, placing the controller on the coffee table in front of him before looking over at Cindy who was seated on the other side of the couch as Ryan was seated between the both of them.

"You think the two of them are ok up there?" Wilson whispered over to his wife once she had turned to face him, referring of course to Jessica and Ethan who were outside on the patio.

Cindy nodded, "Jessica needs a friend right now, and there's no one better for her to open up to than Ethan." She reminded him.

"Is my Mom and Dad gonna get a divorce?" Ryan suddenly questioned from beneath them both, having stopped playing the game with the controller resting on his lap.

"Ryan, what would make you say that?" Cindy questioned to him with shock.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He muttered softly before continuing.

"It's just….sometimes Mom looks sad and then Dad looks sad. They think me and Jess don't see it when they're sad but we do…and well some of the kids at school say that their parents were sad and started fighting all the time before they got divorced." The boy explained as he chewed on his bottom lip.

"Ryan, that's _not_ going to happen to your Mom and Dad." Wilson assured him as he placed his arm around the boy.

"Are you sure?" Ryan asked his uncle with a worried expression.

"I'm sure." Wilson confirmed.

Ryan nodded, forcing a small smile upon his face…while not_ really_ sure if Uncle Wilson was just being nice to him like he always was.

"Hey…" Cindy whispered after seeing Ryan's doubtful expression, touching the boy's shoulder so he would look back at her.

"Your Uncle Wilson may stink when it comes to playing video games, but he would never tell you something about your parents that wasn't true." Cindy joked softly, happy to see a genuine smile rise up upon Ryan's face.

"Hey! Why did this conversation have to go back to me stinking at video games?" Wilson questioned with a mock tone of anger which caused Ryan to laugh.

Looking over at his wife, Wilson gave her a small smile, knowing that with her help they would be able to give both Ryan and Jessica the comfort and sense of family they would need while their parents were away for the weekend, trying to move forward past all of the sadness and confusion the last few weeks had hurled their way.

* * *

Around a half hour later, House and Cuddy were seated at the dining room table inside the cabin. The two of them working together earlier to prepare a spaghetti dinner including some toasted garlic bread that had been stocked inside of the freezer which had been heated up in the oven by House.

Uncorking a bottle of red wine, House looked over at Cuddy as the two long, tapered red candles she had found in the pantry and placed on the table top cast a soft glow upon her face after she had lit them, adding even more to the romantic atmosphere surrounding them along with the crackling fire behind them.

In days gone by this was _exactly_ the type of scene he would create for her from time to time to remind her why she had given her all to him, but now.... it was just another memory of the present for her. Sweet no doubt, and he was sure very endearing in some way to her because they had created this scene together, but …still painfully lacking the depth of what they had once had.

"You know you're Mom is really quite the Whino. Did you happen to notice how many bottles of the vino she hauled up here?" House teased, pushing his sadness down deep within him to dealt with later in the night after Lisa had fallen asleep, just as the cork he had freed from the wine bottle caused a loud popping sound to explode into the room.

Cuddy gave him chuckle as well as a slightly wrinkled brow at the comment he had just made regarding her mother.

"You know, I have to confess, I don't understand exactly _how _you've managed to get my Mom wrapped around your finger while referring to her in such a flattering manner." Cuddy informed him as House prompted to her with a nod of his head to raise her glass so he could pour some of the wine into it.

"Well you see the thing is…. I seem to have a way with the Cuddy woman. They can't seem to get enough of me." House told her with a smirk as he poured himself a glass of wine before putting the bottle down and taking a seat himself.

Looking over at him as she placed the wine glass against her lips, Cuddy gave House a small smile before taking a sip of the dark, red wine, and then suddenly...... her world froze in an instant as the wine traveled over her tongue.

A rush of heated blood moved into Cuddy's head, making her dizzy as her heart began racing. The wine glass, slipping out of her left hand and falling with a thud and thankfully not breaking before rolling onto the floor as a trail of red liquid followed behind it.

"Lisa?" House questioned as Cuddy moved her hand to head and let out a loud gasp.

The sound chilled him to the bone.

"Lisa, are you ok?" House asjed as his heart pounded inside of his chest, getting out of his chair in a flash and racing over to her side of the table

He immediately crouched down beside her without a second thought to the sharp pain that rose up his right thigh.

_NO... not now….not while they were in the middle of nowhere._

Brain hemorrhage.

That was the thought the ran quickly up House's spine, causing the hairs on his neck to stand up on the way to his brain.

Lisa's headaches......those headaches she spoke of only mere hours ago, that should have made him turn around and head straight to the hospital was all his mind could focus on at the moment.

"Talk to me." House repeated again as a vein of panic moved through his voice and his eyes stayed glued on Cuddy's face.

Her eyes were closed shut tightly, her fingers, kneading away at her temple, his own body jumping slightly when Lisa latched onto his arm, her face turning to look at him as tear ran down her cheek.

"You….you were sitting with me at the dining room table in my old house with my Mom and Bill. We were all drinking wine. You said something funny. Something that made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to fall right out of my chair." Cuddy told him with a smile growing on her face as tears of happiness started to fall from her eyes over the memory that had come back to her just now.

House let out a loud sigh of relief, cupping the side of her face with his right hand. "You scared the hell out of me." He blurted out, still reeling from his thoughts of the worst which had temporary blocked the news of her revelation from moving into his brain any deeper.

"I remember…I remember thinking how much I loved the way you were looking at me when we were seated at that table inside my dining room, and that I had way too much wine to drink and that my Mom was more pissed off at you in that moment than I had ever seen her in my entire life!" Cuddy practically gushed as she let out a soft laugh and her eyes traced over every inch of his face, finally getting a glimpse of all that he meant to her, finally _feeling_ how amazing he made her feel when he had looked at her from across the dining room table so many years ago.

House smiled back at her, his heart being lifted by the small ray of hope shining out from within her right now. "I'll have you know, if Bill hadn't stepped up to the plate, your Mom would have probably castrated me on the spot." He whispered softly to her, studying the way her cool, grey eyes were looking into his right now as her hand reached out to touch his jaw.

Cuddy let out another soft laugh before her thumb lowered on his face, running gently over his bottom lip. "I remember you kissing me on my couch later on, after Bill had taken my Mother up to bed." She whispered to him just before she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.

House took in a sharp breath as her lips stayed pressing against his own. Her mind lingering in the memory as her other hand was now resting on his shoulder, her touch warm and inviting.

It was there between them now, not all of it but at least a good part of it was. The way her lips were now caressed his own. The way the tipof her nose gently nuzzled his cheek as she pulled him closer to her......

_part of her was finally here with him now._


	20. Chapter 20

**Once again guys, thanks so much for the reviews! It's great to read your thoughts ;)**

**Chapter 20**

Getting lost inside the kiss he was sharing with his wife, House moved one of his hands to her hip as he remained crouched before her. His other hand, traveling up to the side of her face and caressing her jaw as his mouth opened to receive her tongue.

It was all there between them now…..the spark, the history, the longing. Rising up from within her and taking his heart along with it as it threatened to pull him in far deeper than he was ready to go just now.

Within the next beat of his aching heart, House pulled away from Cuddy, watching the disappointment fill her face.

"No….we don't have to stop. I remember how I feel about you." Cuddy protested, resting her hands on his shoulders.

House looked directly into her eyes. "Exactly _how much _do you remember?" He asked her, needing to know precisely how long the memory she had recently reclaimed stretched back into their history together.

Cuddy let out as soft sigh, wanting nothing more than to stay lost in the kiss they had been sharing a few moments ago.

"Like I told a few minutes ago, I remember the two of us having dinner with my Mom and Bill…" She started to say, repeating the memory again.

"And you remembered drinking wine and laughing at my jokes as well as kissing me on your couch shortly after dinner was over." House finished for her.

Cuddy nodded in agreement.

"_And?_" House prompted.

Cuddy thought for a moment, trying to peel back the corners of the memory to see what else she could find there.

"I remember having a cast on my leg." She offered with a small smile, watching as House started to rub his thigh.

His current position was probably not very comfortable for him considering the strain it must have been putting on his leg.

"Your leg ......." Cuddy started to say.

"I't's fine." House interrupted.

Cuddy moved crossed her arms underneath her breasts. "Quit being stubborn and sit down so you can take the strain off your leg." She stressed to him.

"I would, but someone spill wine all over the place." House countered.

"I'll clean up the wine, _you....._take a seat." Cuddy ordered, reaching over to her right for the roll of paper towels House had placed in the center of the table earlier and ripping off a few sheets.

Cuddy then placed the paper towels over the small puddle of wine on the table as House stood up with great care so as to not aggravate his tender thigh any further before easing down into the seat beside her.

Once he had become seated in front of her, Cuddy reached for a few more paper towels before getting out of her chair and squatting down before him to clean up the small trail of wine that was on the hardwood floor of the cabin, picking up the wine glass after she had finished wiping up the liquid and taking both the glass and the used paper towels into the kitchen before waking back into the dining room where House was waiting on her.

"So, is there anything else you remember?" House asked when Cuddy came back into the room, his eyes widening with shock when promptly kneeled down in front of him instead of sitting back down in her own seat.

Cuddy felt a small smirk tug on the corner of her lips at the surprise that had rose up in House's brilliant blue eyes because of of her actions.

"Relax Greg, I'm not going to try and take advantage of you." She teased before placing both of her hands on his right thigh, gently starting to massage what was left of the muscle there.

House looked down at her. It was the first time since the accident hat she had called him Greg.

"You don't have to do that…my leg doesn't hurt that bad." He told her with a somewhat strained whisper as his heart began racing from her touch of her hands.

"Do you really want to talk about what I remember? Because it sounds to me like you'd really want to talk about your leg some more." Cuddy teased again with the quick wit that had been sorely missed by her husband.

"Actually, I'd really like to talk about how good your boobs look right now with you kneeling in front of me ." House countered with an appreciative smile.

Cuddy let out a soft laugh. "Enough….start with the questions or I'm eating my spaghetti, Sherlock." She prompted to him, knowing how much he would like the reference to the famous fictional detective.

House studied her face for a moment as Cuddy's fingers moved expertly over the remaining muscle in his thigh, applying just the right amount of pressure that was already easing the dull pain there.

She was completely at ease with him now, the memory doing wonders for her spirit as the beautiful smile remained on her face.

"You said you remember having a cast on your leg. Do you remember anything about the accident you were in back then?" House questioned to her, feeling his heart continuing to pound inside of his chest because of the way she was touching him with such care. The conversation they were having now….so close to what they had together in the not so distant past his entire body was alive with the hope that was circling around them.

Cuddy pondered his question, trying once more to reach past the borderline of the memory she had recovered.

"The only thing I remember about the accident it what my Mom told me in the hospital after I regained consciousness." She admitted to him a few seconds later.

"Do you remember what happened after we kissed that night?" House asked her next, seeing if Cuddy would be able to push past the stop sign of her memory by going in the opposite direction.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Cuddy thought once more about the memory while her fingers continued to run over the muscle, skin and tendons of House's right leg. Her eyes focusing in on the dark blue denim of his jeans as her thumb worked on a small knot in the center of his remaining thigh muscle.

"I…." She started to say, before stopping the motion of her thumb for a second and trying to will her brain past the moment where she had remembered laughing softly in the dark as House held her in his arms and kissed her in a way that made her heart flutter as she recalled the electricity held within it.

"I actually don't remember anything after that." Cuddy finally added after a brief pause with a vein of disappointment in her tone.

House reached down, moving his hands over hers to still them.

She had always been her worst critic, but he was having none of this time.

"Even though you want things to happened _exactly _when you think they should, you've got to realize…..recovering that first memory is only the beginning for both of us." House reminded her, watching as Cuddy shook her head in agreement.

"You're right." Cuddy conceded with a small smile.

"Of course……I'm always right." House boasted with a soft whisper before he leaned forward and kissed Cuddy softly on the lips, deciding as long as she remembered kissing him, he would make a point to kiss her more often from now on.

* * *

As the hours passed by and a dark night filled with the sounds of the birds serenading one another to sleep filled the forest where a cozy, warm cabin was tucked inside of it, House and Cuddy were now lying on top of the queen sized mattress inside the one of the guest bedrooms just down the hall from the master bedroom.

Both of them were resting on their sides, facing each other as the conversation they had been having for the past couple of hours had been focused on House trying to prompt more memories from inside of Cuddy brain.

During a brief pause between their words, Cuddy let out a soft yaqn.

"You should get some sleep." House told her as he moved a stray lock of her dark hair away from her face before pulling the warm quilt up further on both of their bodies.

"I'm fine." Cuddy replied as she moved in a little closer to him, placing her hand on his chest as she continued to look up not his eyes.

"You're not fine, you're tired and you need your rest." House stressed, moving his hand to her hip before he took in a small breath.

"Are you ok with us being like this?" He asked her with caution, referring to the way their bodies were now pressed against on another's.

"Actually…..I'd prefer it if we were like this." Cuddy answered as she gently pushed House onto his back so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

House couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, pulling Cuddy closer to him with the arm that was now underneath her.

"Just remember no more doubting us. Ok? Even if you don't get any other memories back this weekend." He told her with a serious whisper as he looked down into her cool grey eyes.

Cuddy nodded. "Ok.'" She whispered back to him, placing her hand on his jaw before kissing him softly and resting her head on his shoulder once more.

* * *

"_Noooooooooooooo!" _Cuddy screamed out at the top of her lungs a few hours later as the blood inside of her ran cold and her body trembled.

House was awake in an instant, rolling over to face her as his heart drummed like thunder inside of his chest.

"House!" Cuddy screamed out in terror just as her eyes flew open wide.

"Lisa, it's ok….. you were having a nightmare." House said to her as calmly as he could, placing his hand on her arm even though the look upon her face had caused a chill run up his spine.

Cuddy blinked, looking back at him with wide eyes, unsure for a moment of what had just happened to her.

"He…he was trying to _rape _me. Jeff Hansom tired to rape me… and I tried to stop him but he was too strong." She choked out in a mournful whispered as her bottom lip began to quiver and a tear rolled down her cheek.

House swallowed hard, "Come here." He told her softly, carefully pulling her into his arms.

There were indeed some memories he wished that could be forever lost inside of her, never to resurface and open up the old wound that had caused her so much pain.

"Jeff told me he was going to rape me in front of you and then shoot you while I watched." Cuddy blurted out as the tears started to fall from down from her eyes as the memory painfully bored itself back into her brain.

House gently rolled Cuddy onto her back, keeping his left arm around her waist as he looked down at her.

"That son of bitch will never be able to lay a hand on you ever again……" He started to whisper down to her.

"You saved me." She interrupted, her hand frantically reaching out to hold onto his. "You saved me before he could….."

Her voice halted, her throat tightened with the searing taste of the memory that threaten to choke her with the all the horror it possessed.

"_It's going to be ok_." House stressed to her, keeping her hand in his own as he lifted them both and brushed his thumb soothingly over her cheekbone.

"Jeff Hansom is dead and he'll never be able to hurt you again." He reminded her next, wishing there was indeed a way from him to take the bad memory away.

Cuddy looked up at him with a lost expression. "I want to forget how horrible it all was. How completely insane Jeff was and how I was so afraid that he had already killed you." She whispered, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Lisa, we're going to get past this….just like we did before.." House replied, watching as she opened up her eyes once more and seeing his words had done little to comfort her.

"But I can't remember that part. I only remember you fighting with Jeff before some man came into the room and shot him.." Cuddy told him as her face ached with worry once more.

House leaned down closer to her until their faces were mere inches apart. "Whatever you're up against...we're going to get through it together." He told her softly before giving her a soft, tender kiss, not willing for one second to let the demon from their past steal her away from him, not willing to let anyone or anything take away the one person who he could not live without.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi everyone! Well let me first start off by saying that because of some stuff going on in real life for me you won't be getting another update on this story for approximately two weeks. So please enjoy the next chapter and hold tight until I have time to get the next chapter written and posted. Thanks ;)**

**Chapter 21**

At six am Cuddy woke up, feeling House's chest pressed against her back and his arm draped protectively around her hip. Sometime during the few hours of sleep she hand managed to get, she must of turned away from him, only to have House reach out to her, making sure to keep her close to him.

Carefully, Cuddy rolled over to face him with House's hand slipping from around her waist and falling down onto the mattress, in between the small space that separated them.

Studying his face, Cuddy's brow filled with worry.

House was utterly exhausted, as was apparent by her movements that had done nothing to stir him from his slumber.

Chewing on her bottom lip Cuddy began to think of how tiring the past few weeks had been for the both of them. Their upheaval of their lives which had been caused by her accident, leaving both of them trying to hold onto the sails of boat that would reach calm seas one minute only to be thrust into the violence of the hurricane the next.

The though made her sad. Made her feel like crying again even though she was sure that she did not have any tears left to shed inside of her.

"Just don't give up me…ok?" Cuddy whispered a second later, before leaning in and giving the man sleeping beside her on the bed a soft, gentle kiss as her fingers moved over the pulse of his neck.

Looking up at him once more after their lips had parted, Cuddy closed her eyes and took in a small breath before carefully rolling over onto her back and quietly leaving the bed where she had been kept safe and warm inside House's arms.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Cuddy was outside on the deck of the cabin. Dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a t-shirt with a jacket resting on the back of her chair. Just in case the chill of the morning air would prove to be too much for her.

Sure, she could have stayed inside, and placed some more logs on the fire that still held the orange embers of heat within the hearth. But after last night, and the memory that had surface within her, she needed to find a place where nothing but peace and beauty surrounded her....and …..considering their location, it was pretty obvious to her that the sanctuary she was seeking was only a few steps outside of the front door of the cabin.

Taking a sip of the coffee she had brewed a few minutes ago, Cuddy looked out into the meadow before her, watching the tall grass swaying in the soft, warm breeze that was evaporating the dew from its blades.

The sun, even at this early hour, was shining brightly inside a clear blue sky. The weather, unseasonably warm as today was supposed to mark one of summer's last bids to make its presence known before completely surrendered to fall. At least, that's what the weatherman had announced over the small radio Cuddy had turned on beside her just before she had lowered the volume on it so as not to wake House and deprive him of the sleep he so desperately needed.

With her eyes still fixated on the meadow, Cuddy's gaze ran up the a small dirt path had been worn down the center of the field that she knew from talking to House led to a rather large pond that rested just below the hillside.

Suddenly the stirring of something deep inside of her brain, set Cuddy's heart racing.

Narrowing her eyes Cuddy concentrated harder on the meadow before her. There was something about this meadow. Something that was now scratching at her brain.

She knew from talking to her family that she had been here before and maybe, just maybe.... if she tried hard enough she could located and pull down a memory of this place from the hidden shelf inside her mind it was placed upon.

With her eyes scanning every inch of the meadow Cuddy set her jaw.

"Come on." She whispered to herself with a somewhat tense encouragement in her tone before her hands suddenly gripped tightly onto her coffee mug sitting on the table in front of her.

"_No......_"Cuddy whispered, wincing in emotional pain as the memory of Jeff Hansom suddenly came riding back into her brain with a fury.

She took in a sharp breath while the feel of Jeff's unwelcome hands violating her body returned to her. The image of his face looking at her as he screamed at her, making her heart stop as the expression of a madman ate up every ounce of the man she had thought she had once knew.

Trembling, she was trembling out of control, her body, now frozen in the chair she was seated in. Her muscles, stiff and rigid as the memory of Jeff pinning her down on the bed and rubbing his erection roughly against between her open thighs caused a small cry of agony to escape between her clenched jaw.

"No." Cuddy repeated once more through gritted teeth in a voice that was somewhere between a command and a plea.

_Not this time, not again_. She was _not _going to let her mind take her back to that place. She was_ going _to get control of what little memories she had and push this particular one back behind everything else. Burying it deep within her until the rest of her memories returned her and filled the vast chasm inside of her with the joy and love she had found after the horrible pain and anguish Jeff had put her through.

With her heart racing, Cuddy's hands continued to hold tightly onto her coffee cup. Every ounce of energy inside of her now commanding her brain to stop in the direction it was headed for,demanding it to obey her.

With a surprised gasp, her eyes became wide with shock. Her mind grinding to a screeching halt and changing gears in an instant as her mouth dropped open and the low rumbling sound of a dog barking in the distance sliced through the memory of Jeff Hansom, pulling her back into the present at a dizzying speed.

Letting out harsh, deep breath, Cuddy's eyes scanned the meadow in front of her once more. Looking for the dog who's bark had saved her and finding in her search another piece of her life suddenly fall into place.

_The meadow…not this meadow ..but...._

It had been in a meadow much like this one where a huge dog with a fawn colored coat was standing in front of her on the top of a hillside. Looking back at her as it wagged its massive tail. The giant dog, almost appearing to be smiling at her as he waited for her to catch up with him.

"Max." Cuddy whispered, with the sweet ache of relief in her voice as the vision of the meadow and the large, lovable dog became even clearer inside of her mind.

_Do you remember why you where here and who was with you? _Her mind whispered to her with urgency as the blood rushed into her head.

Cuddy nodded as she closed her eyes. The images of memory become crisp and sharp once more.

_She had stopped along the trail in the meadow and looked back at House who had been climbing up the small hill behind her, carrying a bag in his right hand._

_"Is he going to be ok up there with us?" She had asked him._

_"That dog's been around guns since he was a pup. Now get moving. This bag's getting heavy and the view of your ass bouncing up this hill is the only thing that's been keeping me going." House had told her back then, motioning for her with his head to start walking again._

In the present, a smile stretched across Cuddy's lips, her eyes opening once more as the memory stayed fresh inside of her mind.

_"You are soooo romantic, I don't how I ever resisted your charms for this long." _

_"Keep that up and you'll be handling another type of gun when we get on top of this hill." House informed in a low growl._

With her posture now relaxed as she remained seated out on the deck, Cuddy let out a small laugh. The tone of it, much like the one she that had escaped her lips back then when she had reached the crest of the hill.

"Hey, why didn't you wake me up?" House questioned from behind her in the present as he stepped out onto the deck with a cup of coffee in his right hand, waiting for Cuddy to turn around and face him as her back was currently turned towards him.

When she didn't respond, House limped closer to her, his cane now hooked around his right wrist.

"Lisa?" He said softly as he reached her side, knowing by the expression on her face when he had arrived at the table, she was once more locked within a memory from her past.

Carefully, House placed his coffee cup down on the table before reaching over and gently touching Cuddy's shoulder.

Startled by his presence, Cuddy jumped. The coffee cup she hand cradled between her hands, jarring from the impact but thankfully not spilling even though the cream colored liquid inside of it was now rocking back and forth like the waves of a tiny ocean.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." House apologized immediately, hoping that whatever memory had caused the surprised look to rise up in her eyes had not been as devastating as the one of Jeff's attack on her had been.

"I'm ok." Cuddy reassured him with a smile as she took hold of his hand.

"Greg….I remember going up to the mountains with you to Jack and Sally's place." She then explained to him, watching as House quickly sat down next to her.

"Was there something that prompted the memory or did it just come to?" He asked her with interest, noticing once more that she had called him by his first name.

"It was the meadow." Cuddy started to say as she nodded over to it.

"I was looking over at it when suddenly I had this feeling. I don't know how to explain it.... but I just felt like there was something familiar about that meadow inside my brain. Only when I tried to remember what was familar about it at firs,t I started to think about Jeff, so I just started concentrating on the meadow all the more and suddenly…. I remembered the sound of Max barking." Cuddy finished with a small smile that had come from the control she had taken back within her own mind.

"You remembered that old flea bag?" House questioned to her with a small smile as he kept hold of her hand. She look good this morning, refreshed and relaxed as this new memory had helped to take the weariness in her face away.

Cuddy nodded and let out a laugh. "Max was such a sweet dog." She commented softly before her face took on an intrigued expression.

"Why did you ask me before if something prompted my memory?" Cuddy then questioned to him with interest.

"Because of the memory you recovered at dinner last night. I was thinking about it after you had gone to sleep. The wine and the spaghetti we had last night were things that were part of the memory you recalled." House explained to her as hi thumb brushed over the back of her hand.

"You're right, it does make sense. Just like this morning. I was looking out into that meadow and something just clicked inside of my brain." Cuddy agreed before letting out a gasp.

"What's wrong?" House asked her with surprise, not sure of what to make of her expression just now.

"When I was in the hospita I remembered you standing behind me inside inside of one of the hospital bathrooms before. It must have been after my car accident when I had the cast on my leg because you were helping me get undressed." Cuddy told him as another small piece of that memory fell into place inside of her mind.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" House asked her as his eyes carefully studied her face.

"I…I don't know. I guess it was because I was so confused with all that was going on at the time and trying to understand where I fit in my life with you and the kids it just got lost inside for mind." Cuddy explained to him.

House nodded. It did make sense considering at that time Lisa's world has been turned upside down, leaving her clawing for some kind of solid ground.

"So, where do we go from here?" Cuddy asked him, squeezing his hand as he remained silent. With his mind, no doubt spinning with all the information she had just told him.

House looked over at her, giving her hand a squeeze back.

"Well, apparently your mind is recalling memories whenever there is something it can trace back to an event in your past. The trick of it seems to be there are only _certain things_, like the taste of the wine last night and the image of this meadow that triggers those memories. So.... since there really isn't a pattern for us to follow, I say we spend the day with each other doing whatever we feel like doing and see if somehow we end up triggering another memory." House told her simply.

"That actually sounds like a pretty good plan." Cuddy agreed with a soft smile.

"Of course it is. They don't just call me a genius for nothing." House boasted with a grin just to make Cuddy laugh. Realizing that by not putting any pressure on her to recall anymore events form their past her mind should feel more at ease to give up the secrets it had been hiding from her. His instincts counting on the fact that during dinner she had been relaxed and enjoying her time with him, along with the fact that this morning because of her strength, Lisa was able to push past the memory of Jeff Hansom and towards the inkling inside her in regards to the meadow.

"You do know jackass and genius do sound very similar in passing." Cuddy joked back to him, feeling more confident and grounded in that moment than she had in a very long time, hopeful that very soon the rest of the missing memories about her life would return to her, putting everything back in order.

* * *

Back in Princeton, Jack Hall was sitting down in the otherwise deserted IT department, staring at the computer screen in front of him as he had come into the hospital on this Saturday morning because he had been too wired to sleep as the thoughts of his future in regards to his company and Lisa Cuddy were currently running through his mind.

Ok so, technically her name was now Lisa Cuddy-House…..but to him she would always be _his Lisa_. The one who he let slip through his hands because of his ego and belief he could get away with having something on side waiting for him while his fiancée was too wrapped up in hospital business to give him the attention he craved.

Thinking back now to the time he had been alone with Lisa inside of her office a few weeks ago, just before the accident occurred, Jack wondered if maybe he had overstepped his bounds with her....if he had foolishly risked the future of his company because she was the one thing he had failed at in his life.

The one thing that should have been his as everything about her spoke of success.

Running his hand through his hair, Jack slumped back into his seat, pondering his next move.

His software was good, one of the best on markets according to his past clients, however if it ever got out that he had made a pass at his ex-lover and hospital administrator of Princeton Hospital his company would be history.

"But there's no way Lisa is going to remember that day so I just have to decided if I really want to go after her or leave Princeton and never look back." Jack whispered to himself as the wheels of his mind steered him towards the destination he was seeking.

Leaning forward in his chair once more, Jack started to type the link to his email address on the keyboard in front of him. Deciding that for once in his life he was going to put his personal life first now that fate had stepped in and brought him back into Lisa's life while further intervening by giving her the amnesia she was currently suffering from.

For now, he would email his assistant and let her know to cancel all meetings for he was booked for during the next month, and tomorrow, he would call his business partner and tell him of his plans to stay in Princeton for awhile longer as there were at least two other people at his company that could take over his traveling sales pitch while he took time to find out exactly how long Lisa's amnesia was going to last and exactly how much doubt he could place in her mine in regards to her feelings for both him and House.

It should be rather easy for him considering that House, no matter how "changed" he may seem was still a vicodin addict at heart with his demons only a breath away from capturing him within their claws again.

Yes, Jack decided, with a little finesse and a closely played hand from now on he was sure he could find it within his power to send House down the road to addiction again while convincing Cuddy that what they had in the past was worth pursing in the future in light of the strain he was determined to put on her marriage.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi everyone! Ok, I'm back from vacation and managed to get the next chapter done. I really hope you guys like it and as always ..let me know you're thoughts ;)**

**Chapter 22**

Later in the evening, just as the sun was starting to lower into the horizon filled with the peaks of mountains, Cuddy sat on a large quilt near the shoreline of the shimmering pond just down the hill from the cabin.

She had placed her sneakers, with her socks stuffed inside of them next to House's much larger sneakers which he had placed in the short grass, just were the edge of the quilt ended.

Behind her the quilt was a small radio with the antenna extended that had miraculously picked up a station through the endless sea of forest.

Sitting next to her was House, who had brought up the idea of them having dinner out here tonight because of the amazing summer like weather that had kept them company all day.

"One thing I forgot to tell you is that this pond is known to have the world's largest population of mosquito's. So if you end up getting eating alive…...you can't say I didn't warn you. " House joked to Cuddy as he sat beside her, starting to unload the contents of the simple dinner he had prepared for them from inside a the large paper bag he had snagged out of the kitchen as Cuddy had gathered up the large quilt in her arms just before they had headed down here.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Cuddy told him with a soft laugh before taking hold of the bottle of white wine he offered to her.

House smiled back at her, while hiding his disappointment that maybe….. just maybe… the mention of the mosquitoes would help to jar her memory of the last time they had been out by the pond and had made love underneath the stars.

"House? Are you ok?" Cuddy asked him with a concerned voice after noticing the way his smile had faded.

Again House produced a smile.

"I was just worried I'd forgotten the wine glasses. And considering you're not the lush your Mother is, I didn't think you'd approve of drinking straight from the bottle." He lied, covering up the sadness that had suddenly rose up from inside of him.

He didn't want to ruin this. Didn't want to ruin the perfect day they had experienced so far. Remembering how easy her laugh had come forth from her mouth during the small walk they had taken a few hours ago in the forest. Remembering how good it felt to reach out for her hand when the trail got rocky and feel her fingers curl around his palm as she pulled him a little closer to her.

Leaning forward, Cuddy moved her hand to the side of House's jaw. Her thumb, caressing the rough patch of stubble that covered it.

"House, are you sure you're ok?" She asked him in a soft whisper as her eyes searched every inch of his weathered and yet strikingly handsome face.

"I'm fine." House replied as he heard the tremor in his tone giving him away.

"You're_ not _fine." Cuddy stated as her eyes began to fill with worry.

House swallowed hard as the feeling of everything he missed about her …about them..... starting to rush towards the surface.

"Call me Greg." He suddenly requested as his heart pushed the words out of his mouth.

Turning her head to one side, Cuddy gave him a compassionate smile.

"I never thought you'd like me calling you that." She confessed to him.

"Neither did I until you started doing it." House confessed back to her, looking down and feeling the need to take hold of her hand that was resting on her lap.

"Do I call you by your first name often?" Cuddy asked him with curiosity, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as they continued to sit side by side with their shoulders now touching.

House shook his head. "Not all the time." He answered.

"In fact, you still call me House at the hospital for the most part. But when we're at home, or more specifically…. when were alone together you call me Greg." House explained to her.

His words had been slow and filled with a deep meaning as he spoke to her. His eyes holding onto her gaze for a few brief seconds before her turned, reaching into the bag beside them once more.

He hated feeling this way. Feeling the parts of them that were still lost inside of him without her, rolling around aimlessly. Remembering how she would whisper his first name with that seductive, teasing smile on her face as she would ask him inside of a crowed room if he wanted to sneak off some where and screw her brains out just before that soft laugh of hers would kiss the side of his cheek.

Cuddy placed her hand on House's arm just as he had turned his head.

"I really like it when you call me, Lisa." She said to him in a tender voice, sensing the longing and sadness in his eyes even if he was afraid to speak of it.

With the loneness now tugging at his heart over what he used to have with her, House leaned towards Cuddy and kissed her. Needing to feel the touch of her lips on his own. Needing her more and more with each passing day that her memory refused to fall back into place for them.

Leaning into him, Cuddy placed her hands on House's shoulders. Kissing him back with the same tenderness he was showing her while inside of her, the ache that was coming forth from his soul traveled swiftly into her own.

After their lips had parted, House looked into Cuddy's cool grey eyes once more. The sky reflected in them, having turned into soft twilight.

Another day was nearing it's end. Another point in time where she was still unable to remember everything that had gotten them this far in their lives together.

"I miss you." House heard himself saying, feeling his heart drop as suddenly and without warning his mouth released the thoughts that had plagued his mind and soul for weeks now.

No..... _this was not happening_.

He need to be in _control_. Even if his palms were sweating and his mind was racing over every memory of the two of them.

"Greg…it's ok." Cuddy tried to reassure him after seeing the panic rise up on his face the instant the words had escaped from his mouth.

"It's not ok!" House replied in an anger that was directed at himself for not being strong enough for her.

He got to his feet abruptly. Ignoring the sharp pain in his thigh.

He needed to get away from her. He_ needed _to get himself together to keep _her_ from coming apart again.

But before he could turn away from her, Cuddy was on her feet. Standing in front of him and taking hold of his arms.

"You don't have to hide how hard this is been on you." Cuddy pleaded, using his last name because of the urgency that had run up her spine after seeing the haunted expression on his face.

"I don't want you to feel bad! I don't want you to get upset over something you have no control over!" House argued back to her with the anger at himself building as he backed away from her, nearly tripping over the small radio that was resting on the quilt.

"Stop……just stop." Cuddy whispered anxiously as she held onto him with both hands and pulled him closer to her once more.

"Let go of me." House ordered in a voice that was meant to make her keep her distance from him as a scwol errupted on his face.

He needed to get away from her. He needed to get back in _control_.

"I'm not letting you go. Because there's no way in _hell _you'd ever let me go." " Cuddy whispered up to him in a firm tone as her eyes locked onto the icy stare he was giving to her now as her fingers stayed wrapped around his biceps.

House closed his eyes. His hard and cold expression melting in an instant as he breathed in the faint scent of her shampoo that was carried up to him by a soft breeze, finally opening his eyes once more to look down at her.

"I don't want to you to feel anymore pressure to remember than you already do." He tried to explain to her in a voice that exposed to her all the emotional strain he had been going through during the past few weeks.

Cuddy drew in her bottom lip, moving her left hand up and cupping the back of his neck.

"Then just hold me and remind me of how good things really are between us." She challenged to him softly just before she pulled him closer to her as a slow, melancholy song began playing on the radio behind them.

"_Oh girl, any moment, _

_I may ……kiss your lips…._

_Oh it's been awhile, __since I…._

_felt like this_

_Oh girl please, don't refuse me_

_Oh I'm so….scared you will"_

House looked down at Cuddy as she wrapped her arms around his chest with her palms pressing into his back.

The tightness returned to his throat, threatening to choke him if he kept holding back everything from her that he was feeling right now.

He couldn't do it any longer. Couldn't hold back his emotions from her because of his own fears.

And so……

before the disappointment could rise up onto her face again, House placed his hands on Cuddy's hips and pulled her closer to him. Back into the spot where she rightfully belonged.

His chin was now resting on the curve of her cheekbone. The softness of her hair, brushing against his nose as his feet started to move slowly in time with the song playing on the radio.

"_Woman, words fail to me_

_Your skin is.... sweet and warm…_

_I want to console you_

_and hold you in my arms"_

Within the next breath House took, he felt Cuddy's body relax in his arms as she let out a soft sigh. Her sweet, warm breath felt on the side of his neck as her right hand moved down to his heart as her left hand started to caress his back.

"_Oh once you…you were my baby_

_Oh you're my ….my baby still…"_

Cuddy closed her eyes, enjoying the silence between them that was anything but uncomfortable. The emotions flowing back and forth from them as her body swayed with his, making her feel as if she had found the safest place in the world.

With her head now resting on House's shoulder, Cuddy felt his hands move to the small of her back as he rocked her gently in his arms. The beating of his heart underneath her fingertips, honest and true as he allowed her to see this part of them that he had kept guarded from her for so long.

From the radio another song began to play. Its tempo slow and melancholy, much like the first song had been.

"_Once upon a time_

_A girl with moonlight in her eyes_

_Put her hand in mine_

_And said she loved me so_

_But that was once upon a time_

_Very long ago"_

House felt Cuddy's body moving in time with his now. The side of her face resting next to the hand she had placed on his chest as the flickering lights of the last fireflies of the season began to illuminate the darkness falling gently around them.

"_Once upon a hill_

_We sat beneath a willow tree_

_Counting all the stars and waiting for the dawn_

_But that was once upon a time__"_

House's right hand moved up the length of Cuddy's spine. His fingers, finding the nape of her neck as he became lost in the dance between them. Every memory of their bodies swaying together like this before…slow and easy and filled with everyting they had with each other, leaving his mind flooded with the sensation of how good it felt to hold her like this again as Cuddy slowly lifted her head from his chest and kissed him.

"_Once upon a time_

_The world was sweeter than we knew_

_Everything was ours_

_How happy we were then_

_But somehow once upon a time_

_Never comes again"_

In the mist of the sad song, everything suddenly felt so right for House as Cuddy moved her hand to the back of his neck. Kissing him softly and caressing his jaw with her thumb.

He held her tight and deepened the kiss between them without hesitation. His arms holding onto her and keeping her close to him.

Cuddy tried to catch breath as the new song playing on the radio behind them became muted by the thundering beating of her heart inside her chest.

She was dizzy. Her head spinning with every kind of amazing emotion he brought out in her. House's hands now moving freely over her body. Sliding up her back before he lowered them to her hips once more. Her hands, gripping onto his broad shoulders as she felt House carefully start to back her up and lower her down onto the quilt beneath them.

She followed his lead, Cuddy bent her knees as their lips parting for a few mere seconds before she found herself lying on her back with House kneeling down above her.

Her eyes became wide. Her pupils, expanding with so much coal black that only a thin rim of cool grey remained in her irises as she took in every feature of House's face illuminated under the full moon above as he parted her thighs with his hands and rested his hips onto top of her own. His lips, kissing her once more before he gently cupped her left breast through the thin t-shirt she was wearing.

Cuddy responded by moaning softly into his mouth.

She wanted him. Every part of him. The weight of his body on top of her own. The touch of his stubble against her skin. The smell of his hair as her fingers rand through it. The beat of his heart.

She wanted him over her, inside of her, on top of her _forever_ as his hands moved to the hem of her shirt, removing the garment quickly from her body with her help of course and with the briefest of pauses between the kisses they were sharing.

His strong right arm then kept her lifted her up slightly as he kissed her collar bone and unhooked her bra.

Cuddy felt her hands shaking as she slid the straps of the bra down her arms before letting out a surprised gasp as House tugged the lingerie free from her body and tossed it aside.

His head immediately lowered as he took her right nipple into his mouth.

Cuddy felt the air escape her lungs with the force of tornado. Her eyes staring up at the night sky as a pool of liquid heat raced between her thighs.

She loved him…she knew she loved him ….even if she would never regain anymore of her memories, as what they were doing right now was the most powerful and real experience she had ever felt in the life she remembered.

House was grinding against Cuddy slowly now as his mind was filled with only the tought of pleasing her.

Cuddy hummed out with an ache as House's left hand now cupped and squeezed her other breast as he lips and tongue continued to tease her right nipple.

She was finding the air around her heavy and hard to take into her lungs as every inch of her body was on fire for him…aching, wanting, longing for him to claim it.

House felt his body tremble as Cuddy lifted her hips and started to rub her pelvis against him. Her movements sending an electric charge throughout his entire body. His teeth, grazing over her nipple in response to her actions as his erection throbbed within the confines of his jeans.

"Oh god…._House_." Cuddy moaned with desire, kissing the top of his head as her fingers fisted in his hair.

House immediately froze.

His blood, running cold in his veins as he released her breast from his mouth.

'I'm sorry Lisa…..I can't." He whispered down to her with remorse.

"But I _want _this to happen......you're not taking adavantage of me." Cuddy protested with a confused expression.

House pushed himself up onto his knees, feeling the pain inside of his heart as he looked down at her, seeing how incredibly beautiful she looked right now with her dark hair fanned out like silk around her head and her face illuminated like fine porcelain by the pale moonlight.

"Lisa, you don't know what you're saying." He responded back to her before looking away and towards the pond that was shimmering in the moonlight as well.

Cuddy reached up, turning his head so he would once more be looking down at her.

"I want you in everyway a woman is supposed to want a man...... and that's not going to change once I get memory back. In fact, it may even help me remember more of the past we've shared." She reasoned to him.

House took in a deep breath. "It's not that simple." He whispered back to her with a defeated tone.

He could never explain it to her. Could never make her understand why he was reacting to her in this way.

"It _is _that simple." Cuddy replied back to him with her face now filled with hurt as she looked up at him.

House cleared his throat. Ready to tell her once more that he could not give her what she wanted. Knowing she could never fully understand why he could not make love to her until all of her memories returned to her and he saw the depth of the love she had for him in her eyes. Until he couldl see the reflection of all the memories inside of cool gery eyes that told of all they had been through together.

And until then, the act would only be a hollow shell of what they used to have...and the thought of her havins less of him in that way killed him.

With the thought now pulling at the reins of his heart, House got ready to stand up once more, until he saw Cuddy take in a harsh, painful breath of rejection, turning her head away from him.

"Lisa." He whispered, touching her cheek to try and get her to look at him but Cuddy merely closed her eyes and kept her head turned to one side.

"Just go away." Cuddy whispered back to him.

She was _not_ going to cry.

At least, that's what Cuddy told herself as the breeze moving over her half naked body, causing her to shiver.

"I'm sorry." House whispered, lowering his body down onto hers and feeling Cuddy tremble in response to his actions.

"I'm so sorry." He repeated as he kissed her gently on the cheek that was facing him.

Cuddy took in a shaky breath, willing her eyes open to look up at him. "I don't _want_ your pity." She said to him in a strained whisper that held a sad, bitter edge to it.

"I could never pity you. Not when you've given me everything in my life that I thought I'd never have." House told her as his heart finally pulled against the reins holding it tight, bucking and rearing up on its hind feet. Ignoring the stern commands set forth from his brain and breaking free of them as his thumb ran over her cheeckbone and he lowered his lips onto hers once more.

TBC…..


	23. Chapter 23

**Ok guys, I've got another chapter done and since my weekends keep getting busier and busier I probably won't post another new chapter until sometime next week. At this point I'm thinking I'll probably have only a couple of more chapters left of this story. Hope you enjoy this latest installment!**

**Chapter 23**

House felt Cuddy's body tense underneath him as he kissed her again. Her mind, no doubt warning her that after their lips had parted…. the intimacy between them would be over as he would surely stop things from going any farther with them.

However, as House deepened the kiss between them, his mind as well as his heart had other ideas in store for her. Realizing Lisa's desperate need to connect with him on a deep emotional and physical way as she stumbled towards a fuller understanding of what they had meant to each other.

And …..even though he could not bring himself to make love to her, he could show her in other ways just how desirable she was to him. How much he adored her body as well as her mind. How much the feel of her body next to his own would leave him breathless.

As their kiss ended, House looked down at Cuddy, moving a stray lock of hair that had fallen over her left cheek aside.

"Everyday…no matter where I am, or what I'm doing, I think about us together like this. I want you so much sometimes it's hard to believe we've actually been married as long as we have." He told her softly before leaning down and kissing her once more.

Cuddy let out a soft gasp as their lips parted, surprised by his confession to her.

"House I …" She started to say. Not sure of what she was going say as his words moved deeply into her heart. Making it difficult for her to articulate all that was going on inside of her now.

House ran his thumb tenderly over her cheekbone.

"You make me feel different than any other woman ever has. It's always been you Lisa, even when I didn't it want to be you. Even when I thought I had found everything I wanted in Stacey, there would be times that I would think about meeting you back in Michigan and how incredible you were back then. How everyone around you would turn their heads in your direction when you entered a room and how they still do today." He whispered, continuing to speak to her softly as he began to carefully lead her down the path to where the tenderness and love he had for her was kept.

"Thank you." Cuddy whispered up to him as her eyes glistened from the amazing way he had opened up to her.

"You don't need to thank me for telling you the truth." House replied to her in a low whisper, moving his hand down to her thigh before starting to caress it as he kissed her again.

Cuddy's felt her head spinning as the roller coaster of emotions inside started to churn up a very steep hill. The feel of House's hands on her body and the power in his kiss, making her dizzy in the very best kind of way.

House nuzzled his nose against her own before kissing his way over to her jaw and down the curve of her neck. His mouth then finding her breast once more.

Cuddy felt the rush of air go past her as she took the plunge deep into her emotions . Her stomach fluttering with excitement. Her mind, blocking out everything else in the world except the two of them and the words he had spoken to her.

Her hands reached down for the hem of his t-shirt. Her body needing to feel his skin against her own. Her fingers taking hold of the material with his body rising to aid her in ridding him of the garment.

As soon as she had freed him of the t-shirt, House looked down at her with an intense gaze. His hand lowering between them with his pelvis rising as he reached for the button of her jeans.

Cuddy closed her eyes for a moment as House eased the button open before slowly pulling down the zipper on her jeans.

His mouth returned to hers, giving her the soft kisses she ever redeemer experiencing as his hand slid down into her panties where her desire had soaked the delicate material with its warmth.

House froze. His hand trembling slightly as felt the liquid heat of her arousal. His heart pounding inside his chest as he let out a harsh breath that caressed her cheeks as her rested his forehead against hers.

_How many weeks had he yearned to feel her like this again? Warm, ready and aching…… just for him_.

"Greg?" Cuddy whispered up to him with her hand caressing the side of his face.

House took a deep breath and lifted his head. Her voice sounded so sweet at the moment…so much like the wife who could make him melt under the tenderness she possessed.

"Greg ….It's ok. I'm ok with you doing this." Cuddy reassured him, never letting her eyes wander from his gaze.

She watched him stare back her with a stunned expression. Thinking for a moment he may stop again and promising herself if he did she would put on a brave front not matter what to hide her disappointment. How could she not after he had just poured out his heart to her? Making her feel more loved and cherished by a man than she had ever felt in her entire life.

But instead of stopping, House kissed her softly before leaning back on his thighs. Kneeling in front of her and placing his hands on her hips as he began tugging the jeans she was wearing down and away from her waist.

Cuddy took in a sharp breath, placing her hands on top of his and helping him remove the jeans she was wearing. Her legs kicking free of the faded denim as her heart continued to race.

House tossed the jeans behind them and reached for her panties, pulling them down quickly and tossing them aside before his brain would be able to warn him why he should _not _being doing this.

He then took in a deep breath as he looked down upon her, lying naked beneath him.

Her beauty would remain forever timeless to him no matter how many years passed by them. His dark haired girl from Michigan, forever the owner of his heart.

House reached out his hand, gently caressing the soft skin just below her belly button.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" He said to her, even though he knew the words where more for his benefit than hers at the moment.

"Yes." Cuddy whispered up to him with a soft nod before reaching for the button on his jeans.

"No." House told her softly, placing his large hand over her smaller one.

She didn't know what he had in mind. Didn't know that his although his thoughts were set on pleasing her, he still need to keep from making love to her.

"At least not yet." He added as he lowered down on top of her again, hoping she would forgive him later for the lie.

His mouth found hers again, kissing her deeply before he lowered it to the breast he had not had the chance to warm and tease with his tongue. His right hand easing between their bodies as he lifted his pelvis, lying slightly on his side as he lowering guided his hand down between her thighs.

Cuddy wrapped her left arm around his shoulder and parted her legs. The ache within her building as House gently started rubbing his thumb over his clit.

"I can't get enough of touching you like this." He whispered into her neck before lowering his mouth over her erect nipple once more.

Cuddy whimpered softly.

He was going to drive her insane. She was sure of it ….as sure as the incredible hot spark that traveled down between her parted thighs as his tongue flicked over her nipple and he sucked on it with just the right amount of pressure.

_Was it always this intense between them? Did her hips always rise up with such urgency to his touch as they were doing now? Did they really have the kind of love and deep seeded passion for each other that would last them through the years while other couples around them became complacent and bored with each other_?

"Oh god." Cuddy moaned as her building desire vanished all of the questions from her mind in and instant.

House shifted his weight once more, his middle finger slowly sliding into her entrance as his mouth traveled over to her other breath.

Cuddy let out another gasp. This one much louder than any other before it.

"That feels so good." She murmured with an ache as her hips continued to rise and meet the slow timed thrust of his finger.

"I love touching you here." House whispered back to her in a deep voice before carefully sliding a second finger inside of her and gently biting her neck.

Cuddy arched her back and cried out. The way he was talking to her, the way he was moving his fingers in and out of her almost more than she could take.

House lowered his head and brushed his stubble against her nipple, before letting his teeth graze over the little bud with a deep, masculine groan escaping his mouth. The pull on his groin……almost unbearable now.

"I want you." Cuddy pleaded to him with her voice trembling.

House lifted up from her slightly. Capturing her lips once more and pulling them both into a deep, sensuous kiss as his thumb found its way back onto her clit, stroking it with a much faster, intense rhythm that matched the fingers he continued to pump in and out of her.

Cuddy arched her back again. Her hips now bucking with urgency, her mouth trying to part from his so she could speak to him.

_She was so close, too close and if her didn't stop….._

_Oh god……oh god….oh god….._

A second later she was hit by the a tidal waver of her orgasm. Her cries of ecstasy traveling into his mouth. Muffled whimpers and moans mixing together as his fingers made sure to pull every last drop of her desire from inside of her as he pushed them deeper inside of her stretching and curling around in her in all the right ways with his thumb pressing rubbing harder over her swollen clit.

Cuddy's hips were now jerking and bucking out of control. House's mouth releasing hers to allow her to breath the air she so desperately needed. The drumming of her heart, thundering inside of her head with every part of her body standing on the edge of needle, as the electricity of her orgasm pulsed with a white hot light through her veins.

House lifted his head from the side of her and looked down at her.

The image of her, taking his breath away.

"Lisa I'm sorry I couldn't…" He started to say, watching her eyes regain their focus as she looked up at him.

"_Shh…no.. I…." _Cuddy whispered to him with a sweet ache unable to form her words at the moment and instead pulling him down on top of her once more, kissing him long, slow and deep.

"You were amazing." She whispered up to him a few seconds later after their lips had parted.

"So amazing." Cuddy repeated.

House smiled ….a genuine full bodied smile that took over his face. Pleased that he found a way to make her feel wanted, loved and adored while keeping a part of them safe and wafting for her return.

"I don't think I've ever had a orgasm as powerful as that." Cuddy blurted out next, still drowning in the drunken haze of her desire.

House chuckled. "Believe you have." He assured her.

"Wow." Cuddy replied with a soft smile, before kissing him again as she slide her left hand down to his jeans, unbuckling them quickly before House's hand moved on top of hers to stop her.

"Lisa, no ..you don't have to…" House warned as a chill of anxiety ran up his back and he placed his hand on top of hers.

Cuddy felt her heart sink into the bottom of her chest.

Regardless of what had transpired between them just now he was still afraid. Afraid of showing her all of the passion he had inside of him for fear it would somehow cheapen what they had together that she could not remember.

"Greg…please. I want to touch you." She whispered to him while easing the zipper down on his pants before placing her hand inside of them.

House closed his eyes, almost unable to bear the feel of her warm soft hand that had slipped under the waist band of his underwear and was now resting just inches above his erection.

He swallowed hard, unable to speak. Unable to move as fear and pleasure started to mix together inside of his brain, torturing him.

Cuddy frowned slightly.

'Please look a me." She whispered gently as she lowered her hand and wrapped her fingers around his shaft, hearing House holding back a groan in his throat as his hips bucked up to her touch. His jaw now clenched, his eyes… remaining screwed shut.

_She needed to find him, needed to find a connection with him to allow her take him where he so desperately needed go._

"All I want is to make you feel as good as you made me feel just now." Cuddy whispered once more in a gently coaxing voice, as her hand slowly slid down the length of his shaft.

House immediately opened up his eyes, feeling the panic set in him once more.

"Lisa I…"

"No." Cuddy protested softly to him, turning on her side and thereby causing him to rest flat on his back.

"Don't hide from me….not now. Even if I don't remember us…I still remember how much I wanted you in the past before we got together and how many times you stood so close to me I could hardly breath." She told him softly, letting her hand ride up the length of him slowly.

House shuddered. The memories of how much he had longed for her before he could call his own sending a current of electricity up his spine.

"Do you remember feeling that way about me?" Cuddy asked looking over at him as she bit down on her bottom lip.

House swallowed hard and nodded, her hand now moving up and down on him, still slow and tender. his heart reminding him the look in her eyes right one was indeed one that was familiar.

"You knew exactly what you were doing to me back then didn't you? Knowing that you'd leave me thinking about you at night when I was at home, alone in my bed." Cuddy stated to him as her eyes began to smolder with her memories of the times she had touched herself while thinking of him. Finding herself more frustrated even after her orgasms back then as her hand was no comparison to the man she had been fantasying about in her bed.

House blinked, his breathing shallow as his eyes traced over every part of her that was visible to him under the moonlight, her beautiful face, the swell of her perfect breasts, the site of her slender hand stroking up and down on him.

His head fell back onto the quilt. "You were always such a tease. You should have just let me have my way with you a long time ago." He croaked out, now thoroughly caught up in the moment she was creating for him…only for him.

"Mmmmmm …Cuddy purred, feeling him throbbing in her hand. "I bet you thought about every way you wanted to have me back then. On my back. On all fours. Maybe even up against the wall?" She cooed to him in a sinful whisper as her thumb circled the tip of his penis.

House gasped, his hips now set free by his mind to buck at an even faster pace, his hand reaching up to cup her breast.

Cuddy took in a sharp breath, the tingle between her thighs because of his touch unexpected to say the least, cementing the fact that her lover was everything she dreamed he would be even if her memories of him were lost a the moment.

"I wanted to fuck you until we both couldn't stand so I could have you completely exhausted and naked inside my bed the next morning." He croaked out to her in harsh whisper before pulling her closer to him and holding her close as she continued to pump his shaft with an intoxicating rhythm as some fine beads of sweat started to form on his brow.

Cuddy moved her mouth to the side of his neck.

"I used to think about that too. About how amazing it would be to lose control with you like that." She assured him even if she was sure she had confessed the secret to him long ago without remember it now …knowing that hearing it again now though would only help her in bringing him to ecstasy.

House groaned deeply, his hand moving down to her lower back as she was laying on her side, pressed tightly against him.

"Greg, did I ever tell you about how I'd think of you on top of me? Making love to me while I pulled you deeper into me until there would be no way you'd every want anyone else but me?" Cuddy asked, increasing her strokes on him as she kissed House's neck before biting down softly on his skin.

Those last words from her was all it took as House cried out and felt the release of his orgasm.

_She was here with him. The same brilliant, sexy woman who knew exactly what would make him connect with her again, lying beside him with her soft, amazing body pressed up against him. _

Feeling him tremble in the wake of his orgasm, Cuddy continued to move her hand up and down on him, slowing her strokes gradually on his shaft as she planted soft kisses on his jaw.

See? That wasn't so bad now was it?" She teased to him in a soft voice, knowing the remark would amuse him and keep relaxed and continuing to feel the comfort and love she was now giving to him as he came down off of his high.

A small smile rose up on House's face. His soul, finally feeling the peace he had so desperately longed ever since the accident.

"Very funny." He replied to her, watching Cuddy as she leaned back and reached behind her to pull the other half of the quilt over their bodies before snuggling up against him.

"I think it's dropped twenty degrees since we came out here." She commented over to him.

"Do you want to go up to the cabin?" House asked her while pulling her a little close to him.

Cuddy shook her head no. "I'd rather stay here for a little while if it's ok with you." She whispered.

House leaned in an kissed her. "Ok, we'll stay here for awhile as long as you promise not to take advantage of me again." He teased, feeling the rumble of Cuddy's soft laugher on his side as she smiled back him while the clear night sky shined down above them.

_Right now everything was good between them....even with her amnesia…and for now all House wanted to do was bask in the small bit of happiness they had stumbled upon together as the memory of this night would stay with him forever no matter how many years may pass._


	24. Chapter 24

**Ok guys, another chapter is ready and waiting….enjoy ;)**

**Chapter 24**

"Did you get your memory back, Mom?" Ryan asked with a hopeful, crooked smile. Greeting his mother with a hug as she and House walked into the living room of the Wilson's home.

Cuddy cupped the side of the boy's face. "Not yet Ryan, but spending some time alone with your Dad up at the cabin really helped me out a lot." She told her son with a gentle voice, accompanied by a small smile.

Ryan gave her another crooked smile in return. "You look happy, Mom. I like to seeing you happy." He told her simply, seeing something in her smile that had been missing the day his parents had left him here with his sister.

"Hey Dad." Jessica said from beside her brother, giving him a hug as she looked over at her Mother.

"Hey kid." House whispered down to her affectionately while hugging her back.

"You and Mom look really good." Jessica whispered up to him a moment later with a small smile on her face before glancing over at her Mother again and giving her a smile as well, hoping that the light she saw in both of their faces now would remain with them, keeping her and her brother safe and protected from all the bad things that could be looming around every corner, waiting to take their happiness away.

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"So did things really go ok with you guys up at the cabin?" Wilson asked House a few minutes later as the two men found themselves alone in the living room after Cuddy and Cindy had gone out to the car with the kids.

House nodded. "Things are good." He replied as he watched his friend eyeing him carefully.

"Did Lisa remember anything else while you guys were up there?" Wilson pushed, hoping that at least _some_ part of Cuddy's past had come back to her.

House took in a breath and paused before answering.

"Lisa remembered being attacked by Jeff Hansom." He told his friend reluctantly, hating anytime he had to speak the bastard's name.

Wilson's face filled with concern. " Is she ok?" He asked with a worried tone.

"It was rough ....but Lisa is still as strong as she ever was, memory or no memory." House assured his friend.

Wilson placed his hand on House's shoulder. "You are _both_ two very strong people. Just keep reminding yourselves of that." He replied.

#################################################################################################

After arriving home and calling her Mother, Cuddy was now standing inside the laundry room just off of the kitchen, placing some clothes into the washing machine before heading down to the basement with the rest of her family as the plan had been for all of them to watch a movie as soon as her Mother and Bill came over to join them.

It was a way to get back to her life. Back the everyday things that occurred with her family so that hopefully something would end up triggering her memory.

It was while she was lost in thoughts with the hopes for her future that Cuddy's cell phone, which she had placed on top of the dryer began to vibrate.

Closing the lid on the washing machine, Cuddy turned and picked up the phone, seeing she had just received a text message from Jack Hall.

Taking in a breath, she hesitated for a moment before she read the text.

**"_I hope you're doing ok. Remember, if you need to talk I'm here …please call me."_**

The message was short, simple and non-threatening in every manner.... however, the reaction Cuddy's body it had to it was not.

That same searing pain in her head that she had experience before suddenly reappeared. Causing her to cry out softly as it bored its way deep into her skull within the time it had taken for her to take her next breath.

Screwing her eyes shut, Cuddy placed the phone back down on the dryer, planting her hands on its cool metal surface as the washer churned beside her.

"What's wrong?" House asked, with an edge of anxiety to his tone, having walked into the laundry room to check on her while the kids remained downstairs.

Cuddy opened her eyes, turning her head to look over a him.

"Jack sent me a text." She whispered to him before glancing down at the phone.

House reached for the phone and read the message, putting the phone back ontop of they dryer as he took a step closer to her.

"How bad is the pain?" He asked her, genlty placing his hand on the side of her face, already knowing by her demeanor that she was experiencing another headache.

"Reallly bad." Cuddy replied with a wince, reaching out to take hold of his arm before closing her eyes again.

"Lisa, open up your eyes again so I can check your pupils." House told her softly even though his heart had just stopped cold, his mind screaming at him that he should have taken her to the hospital when she had first told him of her headache. Yelling at him that a slow, small leak in her brain could very well be causing the headaches instead of them being a result of an emotional reaction to Jack Hall's text.

Cuddy complied, her eyes opening and seeing the concern written all over House's face.

"Any nausea?" House asked her as he focused his gaze on her black pupils.

"No." Cuddy answered.

"Follow my finger." House promoted a second later.

_Good, _he thought as her eyes showed know signs of being unable to follow his finger.

"Any weakness in your limbs?" House questioned next.

"No." Cuddy answered.

"Hold your hands out in front of you." House requested of her.

Again Cuddy complied, holding out her hands.

"Now turn them over, palm side down. Ok... now make a fist with both of them. Good, now relax your hands again and lift them up over your head." House rattled off as his gaze remained intense and focused on her.

Even with her head pounding, Cuddy performed the commands House was giving to her, easily completing his next request for her to lift each leg next before he asked her to turn her head from side to side and then up and down.

Stepping closer to her, House then gently placed his hand on the back of Cuddy's neck. "Lisa, we need to take to the hospital to get a CT of your brain just to be safe." He told her.

Cuddy closed her eyes once more and nodded. "I know." She replied back to him sadly.

House pulled her close to his chest. "_Listen to me….we are going to be ok not matter what_." He stated to her in a firm but gentle voice.

Cuddy nodded once more. "I know." She repeated as the fear inside of her had started to pick up speed like the winds of a hurricane ready to unleash its destruction.

########################################################################################################

"The CT showed no evidence of a brain hemorrhage." Foreman announced a few hours late to House and Cuddy as they sat side by side in Cuddy's office.

House breathed a silent sigh of relief, feeling Cuddy giving his hand a small squeeze.

She had been holding onto his hand ever since they had walked into the hospital together. Only letting go of it briefly to take the meds Foreman had given to her in order to soothe the raging headache she was experiencing.

"Thank you for the good news." Cuddy replied back to Foreman, with a small grateful smile.

Foreman gave her a nod before speaking once more. "Listen, even though the CT turned out ok I'm still concerned about the headaches you've been experiencing." He told her before moving his eyes over to House.

"And you want to run more tests." House stated rather than questioned, already knowing the direction his fellow was going as he was sure Cuddy did as well.

Again Foreman nodded. Returning his gaze to Cuddy once more. "I think it would be best to perform an MRA of your brain next…just to make sure we're not missing anything." He told her.

"Ok." Cuddy agreed, feeling House give her hand a gentle squeeze.

################################################################################################################

It was several hours later before House and Cuddy where finally back inside of their car and heading home as the MRA of Cuddy's brain had shown no abnormalities along with the angiogram of her head and neck that House had advised Foreman to do afterwards.

Looking over at House's profile from the passenger seat, Cuddy bit down on her bottom lip.

"Greg?" Cuddy whispered from beside him as he slowed the car a bit, getting ready to turn down the road to their right.

It felt right to call him by his first name, especially because of what was weighing her mind currently.

House glanced over at her, slowing the car even more as he took the turn.

"Are you having another headache?" He asked her with concern, pulling the car over to the side of the road once he had maneuvered the turn.

House then put the car into park, turning to face her.

"No, I'm fine...I just have something I need to talk to you about. Something that I think I may need to do in order to try and help me remember." Cuddy responded, feeling the need to reach out for his hand and hold it in her own before she went any further with their conversation.

#####################################################################################################3

Waiting up for House and Cuddy as they arrive back home, just shortly after 1am, were Ruth and Bill, who had stayed behind with kids after House had informed them of Cuddy's need to go to the hospital.

"So you're sure everything checked out ok with Lisa?" Ruth asked House after he had initially told her and Bill about Cuddy's test results.

House nodded, "Physically, there's nothing either Foreman or I could find that would be causing Lisa's headaches." He explained.

Ruth immediately turned her gaze to Lisa. "So then your suspicions that your headaches were somehow connect with Jack Hall's seem to be correct."She stated.

Cuddy nodded in recognition to her Mother's statement. "Yes, I believe there _has _to have been something that happened between me and Jack before the accident that is causing me to have headaches whenever I'm around him. Or… in this case, whenever he tries to contact me. Which is why I'm going to the hospital tomorrow morning to talk to Jack to try and find out exactly what happened between us."

"And you're fine with this?" Ruth asked as her eyes darted over to House.

Ruth's brow was furrowed, her voice edged with a hint of anger in her tone.

House held onto to their gaze, at frist staying nothing.

Ruth's reaction was pretty much the same as his had been when Lisa had told of him of wanting to see Jack again on the car ride back here. But the truth of the matter was, time was no longer on their side anymore and the longer Lisa could not remember her life with him and the children and the rest of their friends and family…. the greater the percentage grew of her not remembering much of anything at all. And so, much like the patients he treated at the hospital…sometimes desperate times did indeed call for desperate measures.

"Yes, I'm fine with it...even though I don't like the idea of Lisa seeing that smug son of a bitch again anymore than you do,because if talking to Jack somehow helps your daughter to regain her memory….it will be worth it in the end." House replied back to his mother-in-law in a flat tone even though he had the same deep seeded concerns as she did.

Ruth narrowed her eyes at House with disapproval before turning her head toward her daughter once more.

"Lisa, please ..don't do this." She pleaded with a painful voice.

"Mom, _I have to talk to Jack_. I have to confront him about the day of my accident so I can hopefully get past this and move forward in trying to regain my memory." Cuddy tried to explain.

"Lisa, it's obvious that Jack is hiding something from you that he _doesn't _want you to know about. And on top of that, Jack's been doing his damdest to make sure to keep you confused and upset over your amnesia so that he can finish his software installation and collect his hefty paycheck from you without any regard to the damage he's doing to your family!" Ruth argued back to her daughter with every ounce of the mother inside of her crying out for her to keep her child out of harms way.

Standing beside his wife, Bill reached out and touched Ruth's shoulder, causing her to turn her head in his direction.

"Honey please…I know you're worried about, Lisa, just like we all are. But, if Lisa thinks talking to Jack Hall is right thing to do in order to help her recover her memories. We have to let her do that." He told her in a gentle voice as his eyes moved over every worry line on his wife's beautiful face.

Looking up at her husband, Ruth closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath before open them once more and turning towards her daughter, reaching for Lisa's hands so she could hold them in her own.

"Just promise me you'll be careful." Ruth whispered to her daughter, worried that with one misplaced step Lisa would find herself even more scared, confused and alone than she had been before her trip up to the cabin.

#################################################################################################################################

"Hi guys." Jessica said softly from where she was sitting up in her bed as both her Mother and Father quietly walked into her room.

"You're still up?" Cuddy whispered to her daughter as she made her way over to Jessica's bed, having already checked in on Ryan who was fast asleep.

"I couldn't sleep." Jessica whispered back to her as her blue eyes scanned every inch of her Mother's face.

"So….are you ok?" The girl asked next with a small tremor in her voice.

Cuddy immediately sat down in the bed next to her daughter.

"I'm fine." She assured the girl, wrapping her arm around Jessica's shoulders.

"Are you sure you're not just saying that to me so I don't worry about you." Jessica questioned with a frown.

Cuddy leaned in closer to her daughter and gave her a small hug. "I'm sure." She reaffirmed. "Just as sure as I am that you and your Dad have the same frown." She added with a soft smile while move a stray lock of Jessica's dark hair away from her face.

At hearing her mother's words, Jessica let out a small sight of relief before looking up at her Dad who had remained strangely quiet throughout the conversation they had been having.

"Dad…. are you ok?" She asked him with concern and a pair of inquisitive blue eyes that matched his own.

"I'm fine Jess, just a little tired from being your Mom's chauffer tonight." House lied with a small smile, while inside of his mind, his brain was running over every scenario that could come of Lisa seeing Jack Hall again.

TBC..


	25. Chapter 25

**Geez! A very busy night but somehow I managed to get this chapter done! Enjoy peeps and let me know you're thoughts ;)**

**Chapter 25**

"I don't want you to see Jack without me." House said in a low voice, as he stood before Cuddy inside of her office the next morning.

"You know there's no way Jack is going to open to me if you're in here with us." Cuddy reasoned to him, reaching out to take hold of House's arm with a small frown rising up upon her face.

She hated the fact that she was the cause for the worry lines deepening on his face. Hated, that life had turned such a cold, brutal shoulder on what they once had together.

"Besides, you'll only be a few feet away in the clinic." Cuddy found herself saying to House as her mind mulled over all that was riding on her conversation with Jack today.

Her memories. The headaches that pierced her brain until she was ready to scream. Her chance to find the world she had lost. She was placing all of her hopes as well as her heart that somehow speaking to Jack would give her the key to unlock the rest of her memories and bring all this uncertainly to an end.

House looked down at Cuddy with a frown of his own. Her eyes looking past him and as her mind pulled her towards the meeting she would be having with Jack a few minutes from now.

It was always in her eyes…the thoughts inside of her head, hidden just behind the cool pools of grey slate.

"Promise me not to push things too far with Jack if he decides to be less than cooperative with you." House requested of his wife, knowing full well that the real enemy in this tangled mess was actually Cuddy's own iron will to find the truth she was seeking no matter what the cost may be.

"I'll be careful." Cuddy assured him, even though inside of her mind she had already decided to do whatever it would take in order to find out _exactly _what had transpired between her and Jack just before the accident that had stripped her memories away from her.

"You wanted to see me?" Jack said a short while later as he stepped inside Cuddy's office and closed the door behind him.

Cuddy nodded. "Please take a seat, Jack." She told him, ignoring the chill that had ran up her spine at seeing him face to face again.

"Uh oh…I'm not getting my walking papers am I?" Jack joked back to her with an easy smile as he sat down in on of the chairs in front of the desk.

Cuddy gave him a small smile in return. "Of course not." She said softly, leaning back in her chair a bit, while feeling the heat from Jack's stare as his eyes studied her carefully.

She had already piqued is interest with her smile, Jack's cool green eyes glimmering with interest now.

"You look rested." He commented over to her, leaning back in his chair as well.

Cuddy let out a soft and somewhat sad laugh.

"Well….you'd be amazed at what a little makeup can hide." She replied to him before biting down hesitantly on her bottom lip.

Again Jack's eyes traced the features of her face.

"Is everything ok, Lisa?" He asked her, watching as she lowered her eyes down to the desk for a moment before they rose up to meet his gaze again.

"No Jack, things are not ok." Cuddy whispered adding a touch of sadness to her voice that she knew would pull Jack even further into the lies she had in store for him.

Jack leaned forward in his chair, choosing his next words carefully.

"Lisa are you talking about the hospital not being ok? Or about you and House not being ok?" He asked with a well rehearsed tone of concern in his voice, hoping like hell it was the latter that was making her so visibly upset.

Again Cuddy let out a soft, sad laugh. "Jack, I've barely even begun to get my feet wet when it comes to hospital business." She commented in an offhanded manner before frowning slightly and continuing.

"But ironically enough, it is because of _your_ software installation that I can't seem to get a good night's sleep anymore." Cuddy added, making sure to keep her eyes connected to Jack's as she spoke.

"I'm sorry Lisa…but what does my software have to do with…?" Jack had started to question.

"Jack, do you still love me?" Cuddy interrupted, leaving him with a stunned expression for the briefest of seconds before it was swallowed up by his usual cool and confident demeanor.

"Why would you ask me such a question?" Jack questioned to her, feeling slightly off balance because of her bold statement.

"Because of what you told about the conversation we had before my accident. You told me it was obvious to you that I still had some unresolved feelings for you. I'm just wondering how _you _feel." Cuddy replied back to him in a soft voice.

Jack cleared his throat. "Lisa….. _there is _a part of me that will always love you." He confessed to her. "And before your accident I can assure you there was a part of you that still loved me. It's just that I screwed everything up between us before we could have the future we were meant to have." He explained, while sprinkling a lie among the truth he was telling her.

Cuddy felt the dull thud of a headache began to take shape inside of her brain.

_No..not now_, she though, taking in a breath as she tried to push back against the impending pain that she knew was coming.

"Jack.." She then said softly, "the reason why I asked you to come and see me today is because I think _there is _a small part of me that thinks some of the things you have been saying to me could be true. I mean…. why else would I agree to have you come back here if there wasn't some unresolved feelings between us?" She then continued with a lie of her own.

Jack looked back at her with a blank expression as Cuddy felt her breath catch in her throat.

_Had she overplayed her hand? Had her words seemed a little bit too good to be true for him?_

"Have you talked to House about what you just told me?" Jack suddenly asked her, cutting through the silence around them.

Cuddy shook her head. "No, I haven't…. because I honestly don't know what _to tell him_. I mean I don't have any memories of the feelings you say I still have for you. I …..I just know that right now I'm finding it harder and harder to connect with House because I keep thinking about you." She confessed to him as she led Jack deeper into the path of lies she had place out in front of him.

"Have lunch with me." Jack stated with an intense gaze, his eyes now focused on her every feature.

"Jack, I don't know if.." Cuddy started to protest as a needle of pain shot up from the base neck to the center of her brain.

"Lisa…..we need to talk somewhere away from the hospital and away from House so we cant try and work this out." Jack pushed.

Cuddy took in a breath as her heart started to pound in her chest.

"Ok." She agreed.

"He's leaving now." Wilson said in a whisper to House as they stood side by side at the nurses station of the clinic, which gave them the perfect view inside of Cuddy's office.

"You don't have to whisper…..Jack's not out here." House commented over to Wilson in a sarcastic tone as his eyes stayed zeroed in the back of the man's skull, watching him closely as he stood up in front of Cuddy, reaching for her hand as he said some final words to her after she stood up as well.

House felt a tremor of anger rise up from his belly at seeing the man touch his wife with the coolness of a snake eyeing up its prey.

"Easy House." Wilson whispered over to his friend after seeing the look on his face.

House glanced over at Wilson with a clenched jaw, turning around at the same time as the oncologist did and heading towards the exam room to their right so that they would be out of sight during Jack's departure from Cuddy's office.

Once inside the empty exam room, House's cell phone began to go vibrate.

"It's Lisa." He commented over to Wilson after he had flipped the phone open.

"So what did that son of bitch say to you?" He then asked, seeing Wilson gesturing him to clam down as the anger in his tone was more than apparent.

"Jack wants me to go to lunch with him today." Cuddy replied, looking down with worry at the photo of her family resting on top of her desk.

_Would they ever be that happy again? Would her mind ever show mercy on her and unlock the memories of her past?_

"Greg?" Cuddy questioned a moment later when he did not respond to the words she had spoken.

"What time did Jack want you to go to lunch with him today?" House replied back to her.

"Twelve-thirty." Cuddy replied, knowing that right now both of them were hiding the anxiety and pain they were feeling.

The plan after Cuddy's phone call was simple enough. House and Wilson would hide out in the parking garage in Wilson's car which would be moved a few spaces down from Jack Hall's car. Then, once Jack pulled out of the garage with Cuddy in the car with him, Wilson and House would follow them.

"Where in the hell is he taking her?" House grumbled from the passenger seat after they had been following Jack's car for about ten minutes.

"Don't worry House, I'm sure they'll be pulling over soon." Wilson responded from the drivers seat.

No sooner had the words left Wilson's mouth, then the silver jaguar Jack Hall was driving began to slow down as the right blinker on the tail end of the vehicle notified the other cars of its intention to turn into the valet parking area of a very upscale French restaurant.

From outside of the restaurant, Wilson parked his car on the opposite side of the street as both he and House looked over at the large window that spanned the side of the building Cuddy and Jack had just entered inside of and where Cuddy was now nodding in approval as the hostesses pointed to the table placed in the center of the window where she would be seated with Jack Hall.

House let out a small sigh of relief. At least he could see Lisa and act quickly if he noticed even an inkling of something he did not like.

"Just remember to keep your cool." Wilson muttered over to him from the driver's seat as Cuddy sat down at the table with Jack, with their waiter soon appearing to fill their water glasses.

Handing her menu to the waiter a few minutes later, Cuddy gave the man a small smile just before he turned and left her alone at the table with Jack.

"You know Lisa, you are every bit as beautiful as you were when we were together." Jack whispered over to her as his eyes traced over every delicate feature of her face.

Cuddy looked back at him with a somewhat nervous expression.

"Jack…..just because I agreed to have lunch with you doesn't mean I want things to go any further with us." She replied to him in a wary tone.

Jack gave her a small, sympathetic smile in return.

"Lisa, let's be honest with ourselves here. The very fact that you're here with me now should be telling you that you have _no idea what you want_." He informed her as he picked up the water glass in front of him and took a small sip from it.

Cuddy furrowed her brow at him, still fighting off the headache the was pushing hard against the base of her skull.

_He was buying all of it right now. Her slight resistance to his compliment, playing off just they way she hoped it would._

"Really?" She questioned back to him.

"Well then Jack, since you seem to know so much about me even though we haven't seen each other in years. Exactly what _do _think I want?" Cuddy then asked him frankly.

Jack let out a soft laugh. "You are still just as feisty as ever." He commented over to her, placing the glass in his hand back onto the table.

"And you still annoy the hell out of me when you call me feisty." Cuddy commented back to him before taking a quick sip from the water glass in front of her.

Watching her as she placed the glass back down on the table, Jack leaned forward and reached for Cuddy's hand.

"Lisa, believe it or not what I think you really want is me and everything we should have had all those years ago." He told her in low, but confident voice.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Cuddy fought the urge to rip her hand away from his grasp as the now searing headache in the base of her skull moved up further into her brain.

"What would seriously make you think that I'd leave my children and my husband for you?" She asked him, as inside of her mind, she was now praying for the menacing headache to show her some mercy and allow her to bare just a few more minutes to of the conversation.

"Lisa, I'm not talking about leaving your kids. I'm talking about leaving House." Jack told her matter-of-factly as he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

Cuddy felt her left leg start to tremble slightly under the table. He body reacting even more intensely than the pervious times she had been in his presence.

"Jack, please…I can't….I can't talk about House with you." She pleaded softly, determined to find the truth about what had happened between them before her life had been shattered as the headache inside of her brain increased in strength.

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch!" House hissed inside of Wilson's car, quickly unlatching his seatbelt and getting ready to exit the car after watching Jack leaning closer to his wife from across the table before taking hold of her hand once more.

"House no." Wilson replied, placing his hand on his friend's chest just as his beeper clipped on the side of his belt went off.

House took a long deep breath in through his nose as Wilson reached down for the pager.

"Damn." Wilson muttered. "One of my patients receiving chemo is having a very bad reaction. I have to get back to the hospital."

House looked over at his friend intently, his eyes so piercing Wilson swore they had bored right through his skull.

"Ok ..ok…..I'll leave the car with you and take a cab." Wilson said while placing his hands out in front of House in surrender.

"Just promise me you won't do anything stupid that will land you in an even bigger mess than you're in now." The oncologist added as he unclipped his seatbelt.

"House?" Wilson repeated watching as his friend's eyes moved past him and towards the restaurant once more.

"There's only one person I make promises to." House replied back to him flatly, watching as Jack let go of Lisa hand before moving that same hand up to caress her face.

"Lisa." Jack whispered, reaching up his hand to her face before his thumb caressed her cheekbone. "I know that things haven't been easy for you since the accident. And I know it's probably hard for you to even consider the fact that you may want to be with me instead of House, especially after what I'd did to you in the past." He started to say.

"But the truth of the matter is Lisa… …I've been keeping a secret from you." Jack added before pausing and studying the look upon her face.

_Lisa's pupils were wide, her face slightly flushed as the words he had spoken to her moved deep into her heart. Hopefully planting a seed of doubt there when it came to the man she truly loved._

"Jack, what have you been keeping from me?" Cuddy asked him as her pulse raced.

_She felt sick to her stomach, her vision slightly blurred. The touch of Jack's hand upon her skin sending another chill up her spine._

"Lisa…..before your accident we kissed inside of your office." Jack lied, putting all of his cards out the table as he was now certain that there was no way in hell she would ever remember that day.

"I…I don't know what to say." Cuddy whispered back to him just before her left hand twitched, knocking over the water glass in front of her and sending it crashing down to the floor.

_She had pushed herself too far. Her headache now assaulting her brain mercilessly and sending hot searing daggers of pain through every inch of it. _

_She needed to get out of here. Needing to get away from Jack before her head split in two._

"Lisa, are you ok?" Jack asked, reaching for her hand once more as the waiter quickly scurried over towards them to clean up the broken glass.

"I'm fine…I just…I just need some fresh air." Cuddy replied through a clenched jaw as she got up from her seat, continuing to try and fight against the headache raging fiercely inside of her skull.

"Ok, I'll come with." Jacked offered, starting to get up out of his seat as well.

"No Jack, I just need a few minutes by myself." Cuddy insisted, finally pulling her hand away from his grasp as another wave of nausea took hold of her, threatening to bring her to her knees.


	26. Chapter 26

**WOW HUDDIES! Was last nights ep great or what? Finally Huddy! Whoot! Whoot! Ok enough of my inner fan girl getting crazy :P Here's the next chapter…hope you guys like it ;)**

**Chapter 26**

Stepping outside of the restaurant, Cuddy quickly turned to her right. Her feet, moving on auto pilot down the street beneath her. Her mind, trapped within the crashing waves of the relentless headache she was experiencing as she turned the corner and headed down another busy city street, out of sight from the restaurant and more importantly…….out of sight from Jack Hall.

Taking in a shaky breath, Cuddy felt a wave of nausea crash into her once more.

"No." She whispered, placing her hand on her forehead. "Please no."

Stumbling slightly, Cuddy tried to maintain her balance. Her eyes, suddenly losing their focus as her mind continued to churn with the words that Jack had spoken to her inside the resturant.

Within her next breath, Cuddy gasped in surprise as a pair of very strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her close.

"Are you ok?" House whispered with an edge of fear in his tone, turning Cuddy to face him as he guided her backwards until her body made contact with the brick wall of the building behind them.

"I'm …I'm fine." Cuddy managed to blurt out, even though her answer was miles away from the truth as the thundering headache inside of her skull made the words she had spoken sound like nothing more then a faint whisper.

"_You are not fine_." House whispered down to her harshly. His voice, ingrained with fear over what she had done.

"You should have left sooner. You shouldn't have pushed yourself with that bastard …." He started to ramble on as his eyes scanned her pupils and his hands cupped her face.

"Please....just take me home." Cuddy begged as her hands reached up and held onto his own.

House felt his throat go dry. The vision of her, in so much pain while on the tettering on the edge both physically and mentally, instantly sending a morbid thought running wildly through his mind.

_I'm losing her! I'm losing her! I'm losing her!_

_#################################################################################################################################################################_

"We need to go to the hospital." House stressed to Cuddy shortly after he had gotten her inside of Wilson's car which he had started up before following Cuddy, once she had left the restaurant.

"House.... no. We both know there is nothing physically wrong with me. I just have to calm down and I'll be ok." Cuddy argued back to him with a pained expression on her face as she fumbled with latching her seatbelt.

"You think it's that easy? That you'll be able to stop your head from feelng like it's about to explode while also preventing yourself from puking your guts out just by thinking happy thoughts?" He yelled at her as the fear coursed through his veins as he reached over and roughly latched Cuddy's seatbelt for her.

The second the words had left his mouth , House felt like shit. He had failed her. He had let his fear get the best of him and now saw that same fear rising up in Cuddy's yes.

"Yes I do think it's that easy!" Cuddy yelled back at him as her eyes started to fill with tears.

"Because if I can't gain control over _my own emotions _regarding Jack Hall then I have nothing! If I lose control every time he's around me, what kind of a person does that make me? What kind of pathetic, unstable person have a become?" She added with a voice that was on the verge of breaking, now feeling as if a dozen hot pokers had been thrust inside of her brain.

"You could _never _be pathetic." House responded in an instant, his hands cupping her face once more as he leaned closer to her from the drivers seat. He had to make this right again. He had to keep her safe.

"Then why do I feel that way right now?" Cuddy questioned to him as she closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip.

House felt his heart breaking. Knowing _exactly why _she felt this way.

"You're still in control, Lisa. Even though you can't remember what happened between you and Jack, you still have every ounce of strength you always had. Even if it feels like you don't right now." House whispered over to her softly as he pushed the fear rising up inside of him out of the way to provide his wife with the comfort she needed.

Cuddy opened her eyes, looking over House with her head still pounding and her heart still racing.

"I'm afraid." She confessed to him, not needed to list everything that was scaring her to death right now as the reasons were reflected in the slate grey color of her eyes.

House gently caressed her temples with his thumbs. "I know you are, but you're not alone. You'll never be alone Lisa, not with me." He said to her, determined now more than ever to do whatever she needed him to do in order to help her find that sense of control she was sure she had lost.

#######################################################################################################################################################

"Do you want me to turn off the radio?" House questioned to Cuddy after he had put the car into drive and started off in the direction of their home.

Cuddy shook her head no, her eyes now shut. Just as they had been shortly after House had told her he would take her back to their place.

"It's a good distraction." She whispered over to him, a small but grateful smile overtaking her face when she felt House reach out and hold onto her hand.

"Just clear you mind of everything and everyone…include that asshole." House told Cuddy in a soft voice, glancing over at her as her eyes remained closed. Her head resting against the seat, before he focused in on the road once more.

Cuddy nodded in recognition to his words, her thumb skimming over the knuckles of his hand as she took in a deep breath. Willing her mind to get past the images of Jack Hall and the words he had spoken to her today. Focusing her mind into listening to the song playing on the radio instead.

It helped….at least it helped _a little a_nd slowly as the radio played on, Cuddy felt her jaw relax as her eyes remained closed, her mind, now left wide open.

Within the next few minutes as House remained silent beside her and holding onto her hand, another song started to play on the radio. The tune, moving up into her ears with a melody that was slow and sweet and….. in some weird way that she could not fully grasp, this particular song instantly started to soothe the pain in her head even more than the first song had done.

"_Oh, this is the start of something good._

_Don't you agree?_

_I haven't felt like this in so many moons. You know what I mean?"_

Taking in another deep breath, Cuddy concentrated on the singer's voice. The sound of the acoustic guitar. The lyrics penned by the person who had become inspired by the thoughts now spilling forth from the radio.

"_These reeling emotions they just keep me alive. They keep me in tune._

_Oh, look what I'm holding here in my fire. This is for you"_

Inside the next breath she took, Cuddy found herself now completely lost within the song. Her heart reaching out towards the music it as it beat in a new and different way than it ever had before. Her mind, fumbling towards it with an urgency, telling her that _this song _meant something to her. Telling her this was _not_ the first time she had heard the song.

"_Am I too obvious to preach it?_

_You're so hypnotic on my heart._

_So, since you want to be with me. You'll have to follow throughWith every word you say"_

From the driver's seat, House had continued to glance over at Cuddy from time to time as he drove them home. Her breathing was now deep and steady as her eyes remained closed. Her hand flexing and holding onto his own hand gently as he navigated down the street with his other hand on the steering wheel, refusing to let go of her hand. Refusing to let go of her.... even when he neared their driveway.

House then pressed his foot gently on the brake as he eased the vehicle up the small incline before reaching over with his hand that had remained on the steering wheel, putting the car into park.

Cuddy took in another breath, unaware that he had stopped the car.

_It was all so close, the taste of her memory on the tip tongue and ready to savored…...when suddenly……. it slipped away like leaf caught up in the strong winds of a storm._

"How's your headache?" House asked Cuddy as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Better." Cuddy replied as she turned to face him, biting down on her bottom lip to hold back her sorrow.

She felt like crying. Felt like banging her fists into the dash in front of her from the utter frustration she was feeling.

House studied her face, noticing immediately the hint of sadness inside of her eyes.

"Anything else going on I should know about?" He asked with concern.

Cuddy shook her head. "No, I'm fine." She replied, needing to lie to him for now as she was too physically and emotionally drained to even attempt to explain to him what had just happened to her. Needing time to settle with her small victory over her headache for now before resting and setting her sights once more on the war to regain her memory.

"Ready to go inside?" House asked her, watching Cuddy nod in agreement as the uneasy feeling about the sadness in her eyes just now continued to hold onto him.

_I'm losing her……._

_############################################################################################################################################################_

Once inside their home, House had told Cuddy he was going to call her Mother and ask her and Bill to pick up the kids from school and take them over to their place so they could have a little more time to themselves.

Now, as Cuddy stood inside the kitchen with a glass of water in her left hand as House stood next to the French doors looking over at her and currently talking to Wilson on the phone, her eyes moved over every inch of his body as the song that had been playing on the radio when they had arrived here continued to play on inside of her head.

"_Oh, this is the start of something good._

_Don't you agree?"_

In an instant, Cuddy felt the beat of her heart start to thunder inside of her chest once more, here eyes blinking as the image of House before her... suddenly changed.

_House was wearing a tux. Midnight black with a crisp, white dress shirt underneath it and he was smiling at her and reaching out for her hand._

"Lisa, are you ok?" House asked just after he had hung up with Wilson and after noticing the vacant stare that had taken over her face.

"I…" Cuddy stared to say just as the image of House in the tux vanished and he was once more standing before her, dressed in dark blue jeans, a red t-shrit and a black dress shirt.

"_And we can build through this destructionAs we are standing on our feet"_

"Lisa, talk to me." House urged as he made his way towards her.

Cuddy opened her mouth, but found herself unable to speak as she felt a pair of hands touching her body from behind. Moving lovingly onto her hips as the feel of coarse stubble was felt against her neck, making a chill run up her spine.

In the present Cuddy turned her head slightly, looking back at the owner of the phantom hands and finding House, once more, smiling down at her.

"_Come on Preggo…...you know you're just as horny as I am thanks to Ryan and since Jessica's taking a nap there's no reason for us NOT to get our freak on." House whispered down to her as his hands moved forward and caressed her swollen, pregnant belly._

Cuddy gasped, running her hand over her flat abdomen in the present as inside of her mind she felt the soft kick of the life growing inside of her.

"Lisa?" House repeated, reaching out to take hold of her arm as the vacant, wide eyed stare remained on her face.

_You're losing her! _House's mind screamed at him, shouting at him to get her the hospital NOW, telling him this was all his fault for not taking her there in the first place.

"_Oh god!_" Cuddy whispered as soon as he touched her as a tear ran down her cheek and the glass slipped out of her left hand, crashing on the tile floor beneath them.

_Her babies. _The cries of _her babies_ being born now filled her head. Filled the room she was standing in. Filled her heart as she looked up at House...her husband, her lover and friend…..her _everything_.

"Stay with me." House choked out as he held onto Cuddy's arms with a pair of large hands that had started to tremble.

"Stay with me, Lisa." He repeated, feeling his world slipping away from him.

_"I remember." _Cuddy whispered up to him with an ache, watching, as House took in a sharp breath and hearing the sound of the glass being crushed beneath the soles of their shoes as she pulled him closer to her.

"I remember, Greg. I remember everything." She repeated to him, feeling the man towering above her now trembling next to her as her hand rose up and caressed his jaw.

House looked down at his wife in utter shock, her eyes telling him that all she was saying was true even though both his heart and his mind were too stunned at the moment let the news sink in .

"You…you remember?" He repeated back to her in a hollow voice, still shocked by her revelation as Cuddy held him in her arms.

Cuddy nodded with a smile on her face as she caressed his cheek.

"I remember everything....everything that we've been through. All the horrible things that happened to us because of what Jeff did and all the beautiful things that happened to us afterwards." She started to say as her eyes stayed connected with his and the smile grew on her face.

House swallowed hard, unable to move, unable to speak...just looking...looking at Lisa as she emerged from the place that had kept her captive.

"I remembering marrying you in Vegas! And the engagement ring you gave me that belong to your grandmother! And the song that was playing at our reception! It was the _same song _that was playing on the radio just now when you drove me home! Greg, I remember _our babies being born _and what an amazing Father you are to them, and how you still make my heart beat fast when we're alone togehter. And the morning before the accident when we made love up in our bed and how worried I was that Jessica would hear us." Cuddy blurted out as she pulled her husband closer to her with her memories now coursing through her brain just as fast as her heart was racing inside of her chest.

Letting out a breath that had the weight of the world upon it, House wrapped one arm around Cuddy's waist as the other one moved to the side of her face."I've missed you so much." He whispered down to her, with the humbled voice of a man who has found his soul again before his lowered his head and gently kissed her lips.

TBC…..


	27. Chapter 27

**HERE WE GO BABIES! SOME NICE HUDDY SMUT! Hope you enjoy the Huddy reunion;)**

**Chapter 27**

House held the air inside of his lungs. Not wanting to breathe. Not wanting to stop kissing his wife. Not wanting to let her go as everything they had together was finally returned to him.

She was here with him now, he could feel it in the way she was kissing him, in the wayshe was holding him close to her. Not wanting to let go of him, not wanting anyone but him ……only him.

They were moving now. Their bodies turning away from the broken glass beneath their feet as House guided Cuddy into the living room. His eyes searching hers every so often to make sure she was still here with him as she gently stroked his jaw line with her left thumb.

###################################################################################################################################################

The sensation of the warm, soft carpet in the living room floor felt on the bare skin of her back caused Cuddy to smile up at House as he nestled between her thighs. Their clothes, already lying in a pile on the floor behind them as they had discarded the barriers between them easily with two pair of skilled hands.

In an instant, Cuddy's mind traveled over every memory of them making love on this carpet before whiel her brain also reminded her of the couch to her left and the recliner behind her head where she and House had sent their hearts racing countless times before as well as they became one, Leaving each other breathless as they held onto each other and promised forever without saying a word.

"I missed you so much." House whispered down to his wife once more, in a voice so sincere, Cuddy felt the sting of tears threatening to fall from her eyes once more.

"I was always here. I just needed some time to find my way back to you." She whispered back to him as her hand caressed the side of his face.

House felt his throat tighten at seeing her eyes so filled with love for him again. The profound depth of the connection they shared, something that would stay with him until the last beat of his heart.

He leaned down and kissed her again, a chill running up his spine as her hands lowered to caressed the side of his ribs before sliding gracefully down to his hips, touching him in ways that kept his heart tied to hers, loving him more than he had thought anyone ever could.

Deepening the kiss between them, Cuddy wrapped her left leg around the side of House's hip as her hands caressed their way up and down his back, feeling House lift up from her slightly as he let out a ragged breath.

His piercing blue eyes were wide and looking down at her with his heart completely and almost painfully exposed to her now.

"I thought I was losing you….out in the kitchen. I thought you.." He started to say to her as the sting for the freshly born memory popped back into his head.

"Shhh….it's all over now. I'm here with you." Cuddy whispered up to him, placing another soft kiss on House's mouth as she pulled him down closer to her again.

House closed his eyes. Surrendering to the kiss along with the touch of Cuddy's hand. The words she had just said to him, finding their way deep into his heart where they would be kept for an eternity as he opened up his eyes once more and looked down at her, seeing the expression on her face that told him she would be his forever.

It was what he had been waiting too see ever since the accident. That look in her eyes that told him she was giving herself to him completely…that she loved him completely.

Lifting up from her slightly, House took in a breath before slowly started to guide himself inside of her, taking in another sharp breath as the head of his penis pushed past her entrance that was coated in her arousal and into the silky heat beyond it.

Cuddy gasped with an open mouth as their eyes stayed connected. Her left hand darting up to the coarse hairs on House's chest as he pushed his hips towards her, filling her completely.

For a moment …..time stood still, caught between the gaze they were sharing, trapped between the beating of their hearts.

They would never forsake this. Never take this for granted for this union between them had been the delicate saving grace that had carried two souls through times of trouble and times of laughter. The bond between them, speaking of what what is meant by the preachers, rabbi's and priest when they talk of a man and a woman promising a lifetime together.

Cuddy closed her eyes for a moment, taking in everything that was the two of them now as House started to gently rock his hips into her hers, his lips grazing over her own lips with a lover's whisper of her first name upon them.

Her body reacted in an instant. Her arm, wrapping around the span of his chest. Her hips, rising up to meet his thrusts in the same slow, steady rhythm he was creating .

She opened her eyes once more and looked up at him.

"I love you." Cuddy said with a breathless whisper, her hands now traveling down his sides before lowering onto his hips. Her fingertips, now pressing into his skin as she urged him to go deeper and take her away with him into the place that belong solely to them.

"Say it again." House requested, with a gasp escaping from his mouth as his hips continued to roll into hers, the heat inside of her, surrounding him completely.

"I love you, Greg." Cuddy repeated, kissing him softly as her hips continued to rise up and meet his own. The ache between her thighs starting to build with each thrust.

House kissed her back as his right hand caressed its way down to her ribs and over to her hip. His fingers, now gently squeezed her left thigh.

As the kiss ended, he lifted his mouth and connected their foreheads. His hips, angling in a new direction as he felt her countering his moves with the skill that only seasoned lovers posses when so in tuned with their partners.

Cuddy arched her back, her body trembling, her mind, filling with everything they were creating together now. Her hips rolling up faster to meet his. Her hands, pressing into House's chest as she started to gently push him onto his back.

Immediately reading her thoughts, House moved his hand up to the side of neck, gently stroking her hair as his cock slipped out from her warmth for the briefest of seconds before Cuddy moved her body on top of his, straddling him and giving him a deep and passionate kiss as she lifted up and slipped him inside of her once more.

With a soft moan, Cuddy started to grind her hips into his pelvis, when suddenly, she gasped in surprise as House wrapped his left arm strongly around her waist, halting her motions as he pushed himself up into a seated position with her knees pressing deepener into the carpet as the front of the recliner helped to support his back.

He then kissed her softly once more, his eyes locking onto her hers after their lips had parted.

"You're so beautiful." House whispered up to Cuddy as he began to move his hands slowly over her body. His fingertips retracing the steps they had taken countless times before as they caressed the curve of her spine, movingly over to her breasts which he cupped tenderly as he captured her lips in another kiss, feeling her arms wrapped around his neck.

_His lover, his friend, his everything, was surrounding him now. The scent of her skin...... leaving him drunk with desire and longing. The feel of being inside of her again......more divine and priceless than anything else a man would covet._

They were moving in time now. Her hips rolling, her back arching. His hips bucking up to join her, His hands lowering and cupping the roundness of her ass while still maintaining an achingly slow rhythm.

With the next buck from his hips, Cuddy threw her head back. A moan escaping her lips with her hands clamping down on House's shoulders, her knees now rocking steadily back and forth on the carpet beneath them both.

House lowered his head and took her left breast into his mouth, moaning deeply into the sweet flesh as his tongue massaged her erect nipple. His hands lifting her ass up slightly before lowering her back down onto his shaft. Her hips winding gloriously on top of him in a slow, erotic rhythm.

"_Greg, that feels so good!" _Cuddy whsispered with desire, her clit, sparking against the slow and steady friction their bodies were creating.

House looked up at her and kissed her once more. His hands squeezing and cupping her ass tenderly while continuing to lift her higher before lowering her back down and driving his shaft deeper inside of her, looking up at her and tracing every feature in her face as Cuddy parted her lips and moaned once more.

House pulled her closer, his mouth finding its wayback to her breast, sucking on her nipple as his shaft thrust into every part of her he had missed.

Cuddy gasoed as her thighs began to shake, her back ....arching with the pull on her nipple, still trapped inside of House's mouth, causing her clit throb and spasm uncontrollably.

She cried out, just on the verge of her orgasm, her arms wrapped around House's neck as he released her breast and looked up at her once more, her forehead connected with his, her mouth open as her hips bounced up and down with a fevered pace, his hands now gripping tighter onto her ass as he pumped in and out of her relentlessly.

House groaned out loudly into the thick air around them, continuing to pull her down onto him with just the right amount of force that would help Cuddy reach the ecstasy that was only a breath away for her now. His mouth open and gasping for air as he continued to look up at her, finding himself at the mercy of her breathtaking beauty. The motion of her hips, pulling him quickly towards his own orgasm.

"Oh god, oh Greg! " Cuddy cried out to him as her eyes took in every feature of his rugged face, her breath shallow and threaded as she leaned in and kissed him as he continued to enter into her in the most mind-blowing and incredible way as her hips bounced on top of him faster and faster.

With a last cry of release, Cuddy closed her eyes. The electricity they had created, now exploding inside of her as she held House's body close to her own.

_Forever….she would be his forever. Loving him with everything she had inside of her for as long as they lived. Forever his….always his._

"Lisa." House whispered hoarsely into the hollow base of her throat as the movement of her hips finally drove him to the over the edge, feeling the heat of her breath on the side of her cheek as their orgasms crashed into one another, leaving nothing in their wake as the surging current of electricity pulsed and flowed between them.........

Beating hearts and the sound of their mouths drawing in the air their lungs so desperately needed was all that Cuddy and House heard for the next few seconds as their hips continued to rock against each other, unwilling to let go of the pleasure at first before eventually slowing and stopping all together.

Their hands then began roaming and caressing each others bodies as they came down off of their lovers high, staying wrapped within each others arms as House rested the side of his face on Cuddy's chest as she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed the crown of his head.

"I love you." House whispered up to Cuddy with his hands now caressing her thighs as he looked up at her.

"I know silly. Remember I don't have amnesia anymore?" Cuddy replied back to him with a small smile before kissing him softly.

TBC….


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

A half an hour later, House and Cuddy were standing outside of Ruth's and Bill's home. The two of them having exchanged a smile as Cuddy reached for the doorknob, but before Cuddy could even twist the knob, House suddenly pulled her back towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist as his eyes locked onto her own.

Cuddy looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

"Not just yet." He whispered down to her before lowering his lips onto hers and planting a slow, passionate kiss, sprinkled with the embers of their desire onto her lips.

#################################################################################################################################3

As her heart ached with worry, Ruth opened up the front door of her home after seeing the maroon Acura pull up into the driveway from the bay window. Anxious to see her daughter and hoping that Lisa was ok after her run in with Jack Hall today.

"Lisa?" Ruth questioned with shock a moment later, not sure at first of what to make of her daughter and son-in-law kissing each other passionately on her front porch, especially not after House had just called her a little over an hour or so ago, telling her about the severe headache Lisa had suffered following the encounter with Jack.

At hearing her Mother's voice, Cuddy lowered herself down from her tiptoes and away from House's lips, turning slightly as House kept his right arm wrapped around her waist.

Looking over at both of them now, Ruth felt her heart leap inside of her chest. The smiles on both of their faces as House held onto her daughter, telling Ruth all she needed to know.

"Oh my god! Lisa… you…you remember? Don't you?" Ruth questioned in a shocked whisper while placing her hand over her heart.

"Yes, Mom…I do." Cuddy replied with a soft voice and wide smile before leaving her husband's side and moving into her Mother's embrace.

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"Nana, are they here yet?" Jessica questioned in an anxious voice. Walking into the living room from inside of the kitchen, where she had been doing her homework.

Looking over at the open door, Jessica watched as her Grandmother came back into the house with a smile on her face.

"Yes honey, they're here." Ruth replied back to her granddaughter, stepping inside of the living room where she was soon followed by Cuddy and House.

Seeing her parents standing before her now, Jessica furrowed her brow in confusion. Not sure of what to make of the their happy faces that were now staring back at her.

_This doesn't make sense, _Jessica thought while starting to chew on her bottom lip.

She _knew_ her Mom had suffered another headache because that was the first thing her Grandmother had told her when she came to her school to pick her up from school today. Which is why it made _absolutely no sense _to her now that her Mom, Dad and….for that matter her Nana, would all be smiling over at her as if nothing was wrong _at all._

"Mom, are you ok?" Jessica questioned, taking a step closer to her as she felt a shiver of worry pass trough her because of the odd scene her mind was unable to wrap its arms around.

"I'm better than ok baby." Cuddy answered with a soft smile while taking a step toward her daughter.

"Jessica, I got my memory back today." Cuddy then explained with a gentle voice and loving expression upon her face.

Jessica looked up at her mother in shock , dumfounded for a moment.

"You…you really remember?" The girl asked in a voice that trembled as a sudden batch of tears welled up in her eyes.

"Yes honey, I do." Cuddy assured her daughter with a comforting smile, placing her hand on Jessica's shoulder and gasping a second later as her daughter immediately wrapped her arms around her.

"Oh, Mom… I thought we lost you! I love you so much!" Jessica exclaimed with a vein of utter relief running deep within her voice as the tears began falling from her eyes. Her arms holding tightly onto Cuddy's waist as her cheek pressed against her mother's chest.

"Everything's ok now baby. It's ok Jess." Cuddy cooed softly down to her daughter, stroking her long, dark hair before planting a kiss on the crown of Jessica's head and placing another kiss on the girl's cheek as her daughter looked up at her with a heartwreching smile.

From beside them Ruth placed her arm around House's waist as she felt the happy tears rising up into her own eyes.

The contact of course caused a scowl to immediately form on House's face.

"Listen Ruth, if you think you're going to pull me into some kind of group hug, you're even more senile than I thought you were." House informed his mother-in-low in no uncertain terms.

"Just shut up Dad and get over here." Jessica whispered over to him as she reached out and pulled him closer to where her and her mother were standing, resulting in Ruth being pulled into the "group hug" as well.

House let out a deep sigh and shook his head before placing a kiss on Jessica's forehead, while cupping the side of her face.

"Only for you kid." He told her with a small smirk before lowering his hand down and out of sight from his daughter and his wife as he then proceeded to give Ruth's backside a hardy squeeze.

With wide chestnut eyes, Ruth choked back the yelp wanting to rise up from inside of her throat. Those same eyes glaring up at House as he looked down at her with a wide grin.

"Hey? Why didn't you guys come and get us and why is everyone hugging each other?" Ryan asked as he entered into the living room with Bill as the both of them had been out in the garage where Bill had been helping Ryan construct a birdhouse that he was going to give to his Mother as a gift for her birthday…which was only a few weeks away.

At hearing the boy's question they all turned to face him, releasing one another from their embraces.

"Ryan! Mom's got her memory back!" Jessica blurted out to her brother with excitement just as a few more happy tears ran down her face.

Ryan held his breath, swallowing hard and finding himself frozen in place as his grey eyes looked up at his Mother and his heart beat loudly inside of his head.

"Jessica's not playing a trick on me…. is she Mom?" The boy asked with an ache in his tone, too stunned to think straight at the moment as his heart was now currently hanging by a string.

"Jess is telling you the truth honey. I remember everything Ryan...including how amazing it was to feel you and Jess growing inside of my belly and how much the both of you love for me to tell you stories about when the two of you were my sweet, little babies." Cuddy said to her son in a soft voice, taking a few steps towards him before lowering herself down onto her knees.

With his bottom lip trembling, Ryan practically jumped into his Mother's arms, wrapping his arms tightly around her neck.

"I just knew you'd come back to us Mom!" The boy whispered with his eyes looking up at his Dad and his Sister, seeing the love they had for him displayed on their faces as he kissed his mother's cheek.

"I just knew it." The body repeated, as he pulled away slightly, looking up at Cuddy with a crooked smile as his heart leap for joy inside of his small chest along with the innocence that had remained there as well in spite of the sorrow that had tried to snuff it out.

"Welcome home Lisa." Bill then said softly from above them both as he placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder while silently thanking God for brining one of the most precious people in the world to him back to the family that had missed her so very much.

TBC….**.**

**Well peeps, we're nearing the end of this story. I'd say if I had to make a guess, there should be one or two chapter after this one. Also I'll be MIA for a little bit b/c of the holiday but should get a another chapter up some time next week. Thanks to all my loyal readers and I'll be back with you guys soon!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Early the next morning, just before then sun started to emerge from the horizon, Cuddy pressed her mouth into House's shoulder in order to stifle the moan coming forth from her lips as her legs wrapped around his waist and he drove himself deeper inside of her.

She could feel him start to tremble, his beard brushing against her cheek, his mouth drawing in a shaky breath as he whispered her name while trying to take a breath of air into his lungs, his tone, filled with both tenderness and desire as he reached his peak

"Lisa, you feel so good." House groaned from on top of her with a thick and amazingly sexy morning voice, just as he closed eyes and the fireworks started to go off inside of his body, shooting down to his toes before running up his spine.

Cuddy held onto him tightly, her toes now pointing towards the ceiling, another cry escaping from her lips and being muffled his shoulder with her hips bucking up into him as they created perfection together.

As their hearts crashed into one another, House lifted up from Cuddy slightly so he could look down at her. His hands clasping her own hands above her head, his soul connecting with hers as he looked deeply into her cool grey eyes.

Their hips suddenly jerked unison, their mouths opening and gasping for air as the surge of electricity coursed between them. The labored breathing following their orgasms, telling of how powerful their union truly was. Taking nearly everything from them in that moment and leaving very little left in its wake.

Rolling off of Cuddy a few minutes later with his chest heaving and his pulse racing, House fell onto his side, pulling her next to him as their foreheads connected and their hearts continued to pound, looking over at her without speaking as the time between them now needed no words.

After finally getting his breathing under control, House moved his hand down to Cuddy's hip from where it had been resting on her shoulder as he stared over at her intently.

"Anyway I can convince you into staying in bed with me all day for some more mind blowing sex instead of the both of us going into work?" He asked her in a low whisper.

Cuddy gave him a small smile, already knowing the direction that their conversation was heading.

"We have to get the kids off to school and since I _finally _remember all that I need to get done at the hospital…I'm afraid staying in bed with you isn't in the cards for us today." She told him gently before leaning in towards him and giving him a small kiss.

House held onto their gaze as their lips parted.

"I want to be with you in your office when you meet with Jack Hall today." He replied in a more direction manner, moving pass his romantic reasoning and heading straight towards the issue that had given him a restless nights sleep.

"You know I can't let you do that." Cuddy reasoned to him while keeping her voice soft.

"I promise I won't lay a finger on the bastard." House whispered back to her even though he was lying through his teeth.

"Nice try, but the last thing I want to do is give the board anymore reasons to question my ability to supervise my husband." Cuddy reminded him as her hand moved up to his jaw.

Just then a soft knock was heard at their bedroom door.

"Mom?" Jessica called out from the other side of the door.

"Just give us a minute honey." Cuddy replied, giving House one last glance before she turned to her left, reaching for the nightgown he had removed from her earlier before slipping it onto her body once more.

#########################################################################################################################

Looking over at the time on her computer, Cuddy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. It was nearly eleven thirty, which meant at any minute Jack Hall would be walking through the double doors of her office.

Taking in another breath with her eyes remaining closed, Cuddy thought about her ride to the hospital this morning with her husband after they had dropped the kids off at school.

Even though House had been trying his damdest not to show the anger he felt towards Jack Hall, Cuddy had felt it growing with every mile that had led them closer to the hospital, leaving her with the unnerving feeling that right now, somewhere inside her hospital, her husband was dangerously close to reaching the boiling point in regards to the man that had made the stupidest mistake in his life by trying to take her away from the only man she had ever truly loved. She only hoped that Wilson would be able to keep House occupied and as under control as possible just as he had promised to her this morning, until her meeting with Jack was over.

It was with that thought currently running through her mind, that Cuddy heard a knock on her door and in opening up her eyes, found herself looking over at Jack Hall as looked back at her through that glass doors of her office with a smile on his face.

Cuddy motioned for him to come in, feeling the anger starting to rise within her as she traced the corners of Jack's smug and confident smile which then changed quickly into an expression of concern as he drew closer to her.

"Lisa, I'm so glad you're ok. I was so worried about you. I've been trying to reach you. Did you get my messages?" Jack asked her as he approached her desk.

"I got them." Cuddy replied coolly as she got up from her chair, walking around to the front of her desk so that she was now standing before him.

Jack studied Lisa's face carefully. Unable to get a read on her, but deciding to go with what his instinct was telling him would be the best approach.

"Lisa, I hope the two of us meeting yesterday didn't end up causing you and House any kind of problems." Jack then said in a soft and concerned voice, while reaching out and placing a reassuring hand on Cuddy's shoulder.

Setting her jaw, Cuddy quickly removed Jack's hand from her shoulder. "Are you sure you're really worried about causing trouble between me and an my husband, Jack? Or are things actually going exaclty as you planned them to? " She asked him with a voice that had held within it the smallest drop of the ocean of the anger which was now raging inside of her.

Jack paused for a moment before answering her. It was obvious to him House and Lisa were probably up half the night discussing his lunch with her and he couldn't have been more pleased.

"Lisa, I don't know what House may have said to you last night, but I can assure you - " Jack started to say, confident he could swing the discussion back in the direction he needed it to be in.

Cuddy set her jaw again, crossing her arms in front of her as she got ready to say the words that would send the smug man before her reeling.

"Jack, I remember _everything_." She stated in no uncertain terms. Her eyes now piercing and strong, her jaw doing it's best to hold back the rest of her anger that wanted her to scream at him at the top of her lungs.

A look of shock and disbelief suddenly took over Jack's face, bringing with it a awful, nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Lisa, you…you couldn't have.." Jack scrambled to say, trying to convince her as well as himself that the words she had just spoken were indeed lies. That what she had told him was not, in fact reality as he felt the ground starting to shift beneath his feet.

"I couldn't have what, Jack? Couldn't have remembered you making a pass at me right here inside of my office before my accident? Couldn't have realized what a cold hearted and manipulative son of a bitch you are after I regained my memory and thought of how you've being doing your damndest to convince me that I somehow made advances towards _you_ because I was unhappy in my marriage? Or that I was willing to throw away everything I have with my husband and my children in order to be with you?" Cuddy asked as the anger within her suddenly surged over the floodgate she had put up to stop it.

She was yelling at him now with every fiber of her being. Taking a step closer to him as her grey eyes blazed a hole right through Jack Hall as he stood there, temporally stunned into silence.

"Lisa, please you have to let me -"

"Get out of my office!" Cuddy snapped back at him as her finger pointed towards the door.

"Lisa I…" Jacks started to say once more.

"Jack, get out of my office now or I'll have security throw you out!" Cuddy warned, lowering the tone of voice her only slightly as she tried to regain control over the emotions that had flared up violently inside of her.

"Lisa, once you have some time to calm down I can explain this all to you." Jack started to say as he backed away from her, his spine making contact with the wooden doors of her office as he fumbled for the knob, when suddenly, he felt himself being forcefully shoved from behind. The doors behind him being opened with such power that he found himslef landing flat on his face and ontop of the carpeted floor beneath him.

"Lisa, I ….. Oh, I'm sorry, its seems I've interrupted your meeting." House stated innocently, looking over at his wife as he walked through the doors of her office with a small smirk on his face as Jack lay below him, kissing the carpet with his now not so smug face.

"House." Cuddy whispered with an edge to her tone, warning him not take things any further as Jack turned around on the floor beneath them and into a seated position.

"Oh sorry buddy. Here Jack…let me give you hand." House then offered, finding great amusement in the fact that Jack was so in shock over what had just occurred, he reached out for the hand he had placed before him without question.

With a powerful tug, House brought the man quickly to his feet, his piercing blue eyes boring a hole into Jack Hall's skull as he kept a tight grip on the man's hand.

"Listen up Jack because I'm only going to tell this to you once. If I ever see you within fifty feet of my wife again I'll make sure to leave you looking like you went through a windshield of a car at a hundred miles an hour. You got that?" House threatened in a voice so cold and menacing it had left the man standing before him mute and trying to regain his grip on the world that was now furiously spinning out of control around him.

"Greg, let him go." Cuddy whispered over to her husband while placing her hand on his arm.

House glanced over at Cuddy, taking in a silent breath before he removed the iron grip he had on Jack's hand.

Once free, Jack darted his eyes over to Cuddy, his demeanor changing in an instant that of a man who had obviously been humiliated and was now mad as hell about it.

"You know I could sue you over what your drug addict of a husband just did." Jack stated to her in angry tone, trying desperately to claim back some of the pride he had just lost.

Cuddy gave him a curt laugh. "Yeah, go ahead and try that Jack and see how far you get. Now I suggest you leave my office before my husband humiliates you even more by beating you senseless while telling you what a sorry excuse for a human being you are.." She replied back to him, waving her had at him as if she was shooing away a pesky insect as her eyes remained on fire and her mouth ready to unleash even more venom if need be.

Jack glared at her in return before turning and facing House once more.

"You two deserve each other." He muttered with a bitter tone as he stood toe to toe with House.

With a small, evil smile rising up on his face, House took a step closer to the man.

"You know Jack, if you would have only figured that out a little sooner you may have avoided looking like a total asshole right now. Oh well, better luck next time." House replied back to the man calmly and in true smartass fashion.

Not wanting to linger any longer in his painfully obvious defeat, Jack pushed a harsh breath through his nose before moving past House and exiting Cuddy's office.

Turning around to face his wife once more, House took a step closer to Cuddy. "So, are you ready to have some hot, post victory sex with me?" He asked with a smile, while placing a hand on her hip.

Cuddy smiled back at him, moving her hand to his chest. "Well_ it is _almost twelve, so I guess we _could_ take an early lunch." She replied back to him with seductive tone, with her world fell back into place on its axis as the man towering above her leaned closer to her and captured her lips in a soft, sweet kiss.

**The End….**

**And I hope you all enjoyed the story. I think this may be my last Huddy fic since Huddy is now canon on the show and I'd like to sit back with the rest of you and see how it unfolds. I also have a more selfish reason to stop with fan fiction writing. Believe or not I have many stories inside of my head. Some already put onto paper, while others are waiting to written…and the pull for me to once more venture in the direction of my own original stories has become too strong. If I'm brave enough I may start to post a few of my own stories on a live journal account or something similar. If any of you would like to be notified if and when I end up doing this please send me your email addresses through a private message on . Finally, thanks to all of my readers who have kept me inspired throughout the years…you guys are amazing…just like our ship! VIVA LA HUDDY!**


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